Sight
by Aurora18
Summary: "Swan! I wanted that file ten minutes ago, on my desk, it's outside my door, are you blind!" "No Cullen, I cannot see your office, because yes, I AM blind and I don't want to walk in and listen to you doing goodness knows what with Tanya Denali!" ON HIATUS BUT WILL BE FINISHED. I MAY REMOVE THIS TO DO A MASSIVE EDIT AND THEN RE-POST - THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I WANT TO CHANGE.
1. Bella Swan

**Hi everyone!**

**So this isn't my first fanfic but it's my first ExB one so go gently on me please. **

**My first story is called Caius and Aurora and centres on the Volturi and one OC. A not so subtle hint there…**

**Summary: "Swan! Can you not see my office just out there to your right? I wanted that file ten minutes ago, on my desk, it's outside my door, are you fucking blind?!" "No Cullen, I **_**cannot**_** see your office, because yes, dickhead, I AM blind and I don't want to walk in and listen to you fucking Tanya Denali!"**

**Here we go with Chapter 1 – Bella Swan, in BPOV.**

I hate my job.

No, I don't hate my job, I hate this job. I love global finance and project managing but just hate this place. Well, mainly, I hate my job.

I am a senior project manager, contractor of course, and I work at Jameson International Banking. JIG. For real. I work for a company whose abbreviations spell out…JIG.

And my boss, get this, his name, is James Jameson. I believe his parents were either very cruel or drugged up. Either way screwed in the head. I mean who on God's green earth would name their kid James with the surname Jameson. Mr and Mrs Jameson obviously found no issue with this. The nickname JJ was evidently ok with them, to be honest, it just made James seem even more like an idiot.

Not that he was stupid, don't get me wrong. He was an extremely competent global finance director for the company. He didn't fall down in that area, he was just…well…life that he wasn't so hot on. James had slight communication…or miscommunication issues. He didn't really understand it when he asked someone out for a drink and they said no. What further perplexed him was even when he asked almost every day and was still turned down.

Somewhere along the line, that shit just didn't compute.

As Bella Swan I'm British, bright and bubbly, and blind. Oh yes, did I mention that before, well, yeah, I'm blind. I'm 24 years old and I lost my sight all of 8 years ago in a car accident. I lost my mother and step-father in the accident. They lost their lives and all I lost was my vision. I was very lucky to have only escaped with that; looking back I would have expected severe head trauma and memory loss. At least I was still _compus mentus_. At least at the weekends, during the week, I went a little crazy at work. Just a little.

Like right now, it was Thursday lunch time and I was due to give a presentation in half an hour. I had to present a review of my teams' performance throughout our project. They didn't care that I basically hadn't slept for four months because I was up to my blind eyes in work. That I stayed at this goddamn office every weekend to make sure the bastards in my team actually did what they were told.

I was so tired and so incredibly _ready _for the weekend that I didn't want to face my boss, of all people, and the associates and shareholders. They were all bastards. I was being incredibly prejudiced since I barely bothered to remember what they were like, but they were all the same anyway.

I exhaled as if I had the weight of the world on my shoulders and fumbled around lazily for the coffee on my desk. Good thing I had Sheila with me, she always me a little indication if something was going to fall over or spill. Incredibly intelligent. Sheila is my trusty guide dog.

Really I'm very lucky that she's allowed to come into the office at all with me. When I started at the JIG *snort* six months ago I didn't give a shit about what they paid me but I needed Sheila with me. I came very highly recommended and my reputation to get a damn project successfully finished on time preceded me. Most employers would have probably forced me to get a cane or have an aide. I wasn't having _any_ of that shit. My only condition was Sheila and before I knew it I was hired. Excellent.

Now I couldn't wait to leave.

One week left. I could tell Sheila agreed with me. We were allowed half an hour for lunch break, it doesn't sound like much but that shit is like gold dust in London. Each day I took my customary cab to a local park and she ran around like the hell raiser she was. If the poor thing was stuck inside this miserable office then the least I could give her was a little time out.

I gulped down the last of the shit they had the decency to call coffee, more like gritty bath water, in this place but presumably it had caffeine in it which was great for me. I readjusted my sunglasses which I had to wear because the damn strobe lighting in the offices gave me the _worst_ headaches. And since my surgery I was more prone to migraines. One lesson, migraines + Bella Swan = bad times involving breaking things, preferably people but more importantly, delay in project time.

So, yeah, I'm a bit of a workaholic, but I'm _good_ at it. I'm good with people and my blindness has never hindered me in my job. Sure people sometimes thought they could get away with hell just because I couldn't see but the bastards were found out in the end. I work hard, incredibly hard at my job and I don't take shit, from anyone.

"**Meeting reminder for Bella Swan, the time is 1.45 and you are due in the conference room at 2 o'clock." **Ahh Renee. Some people thought it was kind of sick that I'd named my EPA (electronic personal assistant) after my mother. I figured that even beyond the grave, she was still looking after me, and I reminded myself of her love everyday. Even if technically, at this point in time, she was a computer chip that I had installed into my desktop to do pretty much everything for me.

"**Excellent, thank you Renee, system standby." **Renee's job currently involved inhabiting my blackberry and keeping me up to date with everything. A downgrade of her program was on my computer but I never used it that much, only to control things like light and security cameras in my office.

The conference room was only just down the hall and since we were basically on the top floor, Sheila could sit in the corner and stare out the window while I told management how their over-paid employees did a really great job.

Grabbing my files and clicking my fingers to get Sheila up and ready to go, I reached down for her lead and felt instant comfort. She gave me such security; I literally trusted that dog with my life. I reached into my pocket with my key card and slid it into my office door to look it shut. Not that there was anything interesting in my office, it's just that it was my space, and if anyone they only had to buzz my blackberry which was permanently attached to my hip in my pocket.

Like I said, workaholic.

"We're just going to talk to them about the team She. Conference room." I laid a lemon scent cloth under her nose so she knew where to go. I had installed air fresheners in the three main rooms I would be using, my office, the conference room and the dealing room. James' office was only one turn 90 degrees to the right and seven steps forward from my office, so I didn't bother with getting that one a scent. The lemon air freshener was placed in the conference room so Sheila knew to take me there. Clever girl. I swear if my dog was human, she'd rule the world, solve world peace and be sipping pina coladas in the pool.

I walked briskly down the corridor as I wanted to make sure my power-point would be up and ready before anyone got there. Sheila was trotting lightly beside me and she only did that when she saw someone we knew. Or someone she knew would give her food. Probably the latter.

She slowed and then stopped right in what I presumed to be the middle of the hallway. If they were making bloody adjustments to the strobe lights again I was going to hurt someone. The amount of times poor Sheila had yelped when they dropped shit on her head, well, that got me mad.

"How's my two favourite bitches?" The voice was from Washington and no one else I knew had the balls to say that other than…

Carlisle Cullen.

"Carlisle, is that you?" I felt the smile spread over my face at the knowledge that my old friend was there. I felt Sheila jumped up at him and she probably licked his face. Hussy. He laughed and stepped forward a few paces.

"Who else Bella, come give Papa Cullen a hug." I laughed at my nickname for him and let myself be embraced as I hugged him tightly. It had been too long since I'd seen my old friend. Well technically, not old, by now Carlisle must be mid forties, he didn't sound old and in a non-perverted way, as I hugged him, well, it felt like he'd kept his shape.

_**Flashback**_

_I had met Carlisle and his wife Esme when I was in my third year of my Finance and Business Management Masters degree. I had a placement year and was somehow the lucky bitch out of thousands of applicants who got a year's apprenticeship at CGB, Cullen Global Banking. _

_I was stationed at the London headquarters, my first ever job, all alone, just Sheila and I, my first time in London. Well, other than scaring the shit out of me, it made me swallow my fear and get on with it. It was the best possible opportunity I could have had; I shadowed Esme who was Carlisle's PA, who I soon learned were the happiest married couple ever. I soon became close to the Cullens and even sooner, they became the only family and friends I had in the city. _

_I loved it, every gruelling hard working minute of it. Carlisle taught me so much about the business, what I'd be getting into. He gave me real insight into the male dominated world of banking but more specifically project managing. I even had the chance to shadow the PM (project manager) at the end of my placement. Aro was equally a wonderful teacher, but he never made me as comfortable as Carlisle. _

_Esme probably helped the most. I had told her my situation with my family, my father Charlie had no possible way to support me and as this was my first job and I could barely cover my tuition fees for my classes. At the time I was renting an apartment that was barely big enough to stand in, we both hated it, Sheila and me. _

_At the end of our day one Friday she drove __me approximately ten minutes away from the offices and we pulled up at an apartment building, or so she told me. We got out, climbed the lift, Sheila looking around nervously, and came to a door where the corridor smelt of lavender. _

"_Bella, honey, don't moan, don't complain, look, I know things aren't exactly easy, but Carlisle and I, well, we wanted to give you something."_

_She swiped a key card through the door and nudged me inside._

"_Welcome home Bella."_

"_Holy fu--, oh my goodness Esme, I can't accept this, I have to pay you something, I can't, this is just…ah--." At this point, words failed, at the time I had no idea how much I had needed a proper place to stay. But Esme did, she always looked after me and I came to love her and Carlisle like my own parents. _

_This was so much and I had nothing to give back. I broke down and sobbed in the middle of the, no my new foyer. I was only 21 and I had no idea how to thank them. _

_**End of flashback**_

But everything turned out alright after that. I moved in that weekend and never looked back. That's when we installed Renee, a state of the art EPA who could help me with everything. Esme and Carlisle even installed a Kaleidoscope which could select my clothes in the morning, voice automated in the morning. I called her Alice, because she sounded cute and dainty like I imagined Alice in Wonderland to be.

I graduated from my university a year early thanks to the stellar recommendation I received from the CEO of CGB. I was the luckiest girl in the world.

And three years on here I stood, with quite frankly Zeus in my opinion, or more casually Papa Cullen welcoming me home. Metaphorically of course, I was still at JIG, shit hole and major CGB competitor. There was no competition in my opinion, Papa Cullen could kick little JJ's ass at anything.

"So how have you been, are you ok? How's Esme? Is she still working? Did you guys finish the house? I feel really bad I haven't seen you since my going away party."

"Slow down BB" his nickname for me because apparently when I was at work and lined up my team telling them what they had and more importantly, hadn't done, I was like a gun firing them off one by one, ah to reminisce "everyone's fine, Esme's great, no longer working, in fact, I don't really work anymore, I love it but I'm just the owner at this point, I leave all the other shit to Edward." He couldn't help but grumble the last bit.

"Papa C you mean now you're only the _major share-holder_ of a billion dollar banking corp, you've sunk low. I'm disappointed." I tried to suppress the smile but couldn't help letting out a giggle.

Just then my blackberry decided to intervene, **"Meeting reminder for Bella Swan, the time is 1.55, and you are due in the conference room at 2 o'clock."**

"Oh shit!! Of all the fuckery!"

"I know you're late Bella but I do love that thing, I almost forgot how much fun it was."

"Yeah, fun. Listen I have to do a stupid TRAP (team response and presentation) so sit yourself in my office and we'll talk ok?"

"Sure thing BB." I tossed him my key card and pulled the lemon scent cloth out of my pocket, placed it under Sheila's nose and gave a small tug on her lead, telling her I wanted to get there pronto.

We jogged down the corridor and to the door in under a minute. I entered the room panting and thanked God that no-one was here yet.

"Computer, activate voice control for use with Bella Swan, access code – 2-5-4-6-9-2-44-2."

"**Good afternoon Miss Swan, time check is 1.57 and all communications are set up for activation."**

"Thank you, system standby for power point activation, and folder code 8709-B in my files."

"**File is loaded and ready for use." **

Excellent, I had three minutes and as I began counting, the door opened and in shuffled the Dragons, as I had named them. Not because they were any fiercer or better than me, but because they thought they were the rich know-it-all bastards from that stupid TV show, Dragon's den.

And…what's that, overdose on cologne, must be our JJ.

1…2…3…GO

"Miss Swan, is everything ready?"

"Yes Sir, ready when you are." Only one more week of plastering on a fake smile in front of this bunch of idiots. One week, one week.

The meeting went by comfortably, even more proof to them that their well-paid miracle Isabella Swan was worth every penny.

After everyone had filed out of the room, I couldn't wait to get back to see Carlisle, I had really missed him and Esme. I pulled the other scent cloth out of my pocket, strawberry scented this time, which meant my office, and I placed it under Sheila's nose.

"Time to go see Papa C, She."

She wagged her tail excitedly against my leg and if I had a tail, I probably would have done the same.

We glided gracefully back into my office "All systems go Renee, system recover."

"**Systems recovered and fully functional. Would you like to update?"**

"Yes please."

"How was the meeting BB?" I could just tell he was smirking as I heard him experience first hand the shit coffee.

"Oh jesus, that's bad Bella. Honestly, is it _really_ coffee?"

"Evidently. Look Carlisle I'm so glad to see you, but, this isn't just a random visit is it?"

"No BB, cut to the chase, well, I told you before that Edward took over my work post at EGB."

I had never met Cullen Junior before but opinions were mixed. Esme could see no wrong in him; he was the prodigal son who was in her eyes, perfect.

Papa C described him as a womanizer who was never able to focus but they needed to shape up if he ever wanted to earn a living. One thing they both agreed on was that Edward was, kind of brilliant, intellectually.

"Yes…" My interest piqued, I think I knew where this was going.

"And, he needs someone to guide him, he needs a really good SNP (senior project manager) to keep him on the straight and narrow, otherwise, they're going to run circles around him."

"Then why have you thrown him in at the deep end?"

"I thought I'd see how he'd cope, technically he's far more than qualified, and he's still got the Volturi brothers working with us, thank God. But, he needs someone with experience of the company and a good knowledge of how to handle people..." He paused suggestively.

I knew what he was asking, and honestly, after everything the Cullens had done for me, I should be volunteering to do this for free. But I knew that wouldn't happen, I knew if I went to work for Edward, that Carlisle would make sure I was well paid and comfortable. Hell, he's probably put my interests before the Golden Boy."

"So you want me to whip everyone into shape instead of letting Edward fuck anything with two X chromosomes into shape. Correct?"

I couldn't see it, but I could feel Papa C beaming at me, he rushed over and gave me a big hug, I felt home again and knew there was no way I could say no to this job. The Cullens deserved this.

"Thank you Bella." He kissed the top of my head and pulled out my blackberry.

"I'm putting in a few numbers for people to help you get moved from the office, I'll get some people to talk to you about getting system updates for Renee at EMG, you good for a week Monday?"

"Mmmhmmm." For some reason I thought there was something wrong with this, but I didn't care.

Edward Cullen, buckle up and hold on tight, you have no idea what's waiting for you.

**Did you like it?**

**I really hope this goes down well.**

**Any questions / suggestions, anything at all, don't hesitate.**

**I'll be eagerly anticipating reviews. **

**Happy Holidays.**


	2. New Beginning

**Hi everyone!**

**12 reviews for the first chapter!!! YAY! That made me so happy. Sorry this one's a bit late. But please do let me know what you think…**

**Chapter 2 – New Beginnings**

**BPOV**

Three hours later and Papa Cullen left my office, but not before making me promise to come to dinner tomorrow evening. I didn't even have to pretend that I wanted to go, Sheila and I would both walk across hot coals to taste Esme's cooking. She was definitely a domestic goddess.

Luckily Carlisle saved me the agony of explaining to James by speaking with him before he left. I had finished my contract but there was the compulsory week to be spent at the company to tie up loose ends. This was all very well for most other project managers, who left a mess of their team and paperwork at the end of any project. Not me though. Since the TRAP had already been carried out, and because of my somewhat special requirements at CGB, I had requested to make Friday my last day, and leave a week early.

It wasn't that I was worn down, but before I officially started at CGB, I needed to make sure that all my equipment was installed. I needed an angel from the IT support office, rarer than REAL angels, to come and update the computer I would have in my office, remove any strobe lights, and install air fresheners in Edward's office, my own and the conference room.

Not only that but I needed to sort out a chauffeur. Since I definitely couldn't drive and Sheila hated public transport, at JIG I had a driver on my expense account. I really hated using that thing but sometimes, for me, it was just essential. I couldn't face making Sheila unhappy and even offered to foot the bill most of the time.

As I made my way down to the lift to go home I smelt the familiar but ever unwelcome dose of powerful cologne and a tug at my elbow. Sheila swung around and let out a small growl. The good thing was that it didn't sound particularly threatening, but coming from an oversized German shepherd, people were guaranteed to take a step back when she did that.

"Bella, can we talk for a moment?" Here we go, one for the road, I was just hoping this would be the last offer for lunch.

"Yeah sure James, anything you need?"

"I was just thinking that because you're leaving us early, and we had originally thought about taking you out for drinks, to, y'know, celebrate the success of your time here, that we could have lunch tomorrow."

Sigh. No James, you wanted to take me out to get me drunk at an expensive bar to celebrate the success _I _brought to _your_ company and let everyone see how _you_ conquered Bella Swan. Selfish, self adoring bastard.

Of course, I couldn't actually _say_ that. Maybe if I went to lunch with him once, he'd realise that I'm _not _a closet slut like he's hoping, and leave me alone. One can dream.

"Lunch sounds fine, leave a memo with Renee tomorrow morning." I know I sometimes came across as cold and unfeeling, but until someone earns my respect enough for me to treat them otherwise, that's the way it's going to be.

"Okay Bella, do you want me to take you home?" Give up already please James, before I let Sheila loose on you.

"No thank you Adam is meeting me at the door." I was going to miss my driver; he barely spoke at all, was in his late fifties and in a way, reminded me of my father. Shit, Charlie. I had to visit him soon, this weekend, or next week.

"Alright then, I guess, tomorrow, man, we sure are gonna miss you here." I took this semi sounding closing statement as my chance for escape. Creep away slowly Bella and he won't notice.

Fat chance.

"Likewise, I'm sure. Bye James." I was already walking towards the lift again and praying that no-one else would be stupid enough to try and talk to me. I could tell Sheila shared my sentiments as I felt her big bushy tail banging happily against my legs. Oh to be a dog.

The lift door was closing and I heard a faint, "bye Bella", calling to me from behind the closing doors. I raised my free hand in a wave and didn't really care whether James saw or not.

The lift arrived on the ground floor with a ping and we stepped out into the cool air conditioned atmosphere of the marble covered foyer. I counted the usual fifty eight steps to the door and smiled when I felt Adam's hand on my arm.

"I got a call from Mr Jameson's PA just now telling me that a Miss Swan will no longer be requiring my services? Bella, is there someone else?" I laughed along with Adam as he gave me a one armed hug while taking Sheila's lead to put her in the backseat and leading me round to the car.

"Of course not, but I did get a new job. It's at CGB, so it's not too far away and maybe, you never know, we can stay in touch."

"I was only joking, and besides, you know that you're gonna be all too busy to come see me. I'll be alone."

"Yep, all lone driving rich corporate bastards around and getting tips all day long. It's a hard life Adam."

"I know, I know, it's a good job. I'm happy for you, CGB is a good company and the people there were always nice."

"It's a shame I couldn't take you with me. I'll miss you."

"You and me both Bella, but, never mind eh. Same time tomorrow morning?"

While chatting we had made our way into the car and began the journey home. I all of a sudden felt tired and couldn't wait to get home. It would be my earliest night to bed in a while, I decided to get Adam's address and send him a gift for Christmas. Someone who drives you to work at 5am and brings you steaming hot coffee, and who's always in a good mood, well, in my book, they make the cut.

I felt myself dozing off already and I reached my hand around to the backseat to stroke Sheila's head, she was one hell of a dog but she had always felt so soft.

I felt the car pull to a stop and within a minute, Adam was round by my door and helping me out of the car, passing me my dog as we made our way to the front door of my building.

"Adam."

"Yes, Miss Swan?"

"Oh Miss _Swan_ now is it? Funny guy. Can you do me a favour and put your address and number into the blackberry, just in case, y'know, I forget tomorrow morning?"

I passed him the bulky object attached to my hip and heard him tapping away. Sheila was practically jumping at my side and I knew she hadn't eaten yet this evening. I instantly felt bad. It was eight o'clock and although she'd eaten this morning, she hadn't had her dinner yet, and I knew that if I was hungry, she must be starving.

I said my goodbyes to dam and we made our way to the door. The doorman voiced a greeting to me, to which I replied and Sheila led me to the lift. I felt my way around for the door and sighed when I found the button for my floor, right at the top. As the doors there was an added weight to my feet and I knew my little girl was lying down.

She was so excited to get home, probably to eat, that she pulled me out the lift and we jogged along the corridor together. I fumbled around fir my key card and shoved it almost too roughly into the door waiting for my greeting from Renee, who was always waiting for me.

"**Welcome home Bella. Time check is 8.04pm. Do you require food?"**

"Thank you Renee, activate phone control speed dial 3." I could hear the phone calling my favourite take away ad I waited patiently for it to connect. I heard the click of the receiver over the speakers in my apartment, "Wagamama's take away how can I help?"

"Hi, can I get a Thai chicken, single portion for home delivery, it's Bella Swan."

"Yes Miss Swan, someone should be over in 10-15 minutes. Thank you, enjoy your evening"

"Thanks, bye."

"End call, system standby."

My stomach growled at the anticipation of food and I couldn't help but smile, I walked into the kitchen feeling the rough short thread of the carpet in the hallway change to the smooth cool tiles of my spacious kitchen. That's how I knew my way around. Other than having lived here for three years since the Cullen's bought the place for me, I had different materials all over the floors of the house so I knew at least where I was.

"Let's see about getting you some dinner, eh, girl." I felt round the counters for the corner which housed the dog food and took out one of the ready made packets, finding her bowl and emptied the dried biscuits into it. Placing it on the floor at my feet I walked over into the lounge and laughed when I heard her lunge at the poor bowl and attack her dinner. My poor dog.

I had no intention of listening to music tonight, I really was tired, and so I put down my bag, walked round the leather sofa into my bedroom and started undressing. I had a maid that came every morning to do my washing and occasionally have a clean around so I threw my work clothes into the bin just inside my room and fell haphazardly on my bed.

Hearing the buzzed I grabbed the nightgown on the back of my door, not really wanting to give the poor delivery boy a show of me in lingerie and willed my feet towards the door. I asked him to put it on my tab that I paid monthly and he seemed to be ok so I grabbed my food, handed him a tip and began to rip open my bag of treasure. I didn't even bother with a plate, not finding the energy so I began popping the semi-spicy chicken pieces into my mouth. One by one.

I should have really got some rice or noodles but at that moment, feeling my mouth come alive I didn't really care. Going back to my room, I slipped off my robe and threw the empty packet of food into the bin. For the first time in a while I dreaded the alarm that would go off at 4.30am and wanted to sleep for the _whole _day. Well, maybe not the whole day, because I couldn't wait to talk to Carlisle and especially Esme, I felt myself drift off to sleep as I began to look forward to lunch the next day.

_Beep, beep, beep, beep. _

"**Good morning Bella, time check is 4.30am, shower setting is warm****."**

I woke up to three things this morning.

My alarm.

Renee's greeting.

And Sheila lying sprawled across my legs rendering them useless. Then, my huge dog decided to jump up, off my bed, seeming energized, come round to my side and lick my face. Sometimes this could be seen as endearing, almost cute, but not this morning. I had tossed and turned all night, worrying about work.

Well, not work exactly, but my new job at CGB. I had no idea why really, all I had to do was whip Baby Cullen, proverbially, into shape and lead an acquisition takeover of a small independent bank.

Maybe it was just because I was worried about letting Carlisle down and not doing a good enough job. To be honest, I'd never had this feeling before, and, professionally, I didn't really know what to do with it.

Stumbling out of bed I practically crawled to my bathroom where I could hear the rainfall sound of my shower beckoning me in preparation for my day.

Having showered and half dried my hair I decided it was time for Alice.

"Renee can I have a time check and activate Kaleidoscope please."

"**Time check is 4.42am, Kaleidoscope activated."**

"Thank you Renee, system standby."

And now to get dressed…

"Morning Alice."

I readied myself for the high pitched squeal that I knew was coming, but always surprised me this early in the morning.

"**Hi Bella, it's Friday morning. Please select clothes option."**

"White shirt and underwear, black trousers, black jacket and tights please."

"**I'm sorry, clothes option: tights, is not available, alternative clothes option: socks or hold ups."**

Damn! I knew I should have ordered more tights at the beginning of the week; they must all either be in the bin, or in the wash. Not good.

"Ok fine, select clothes option: hold ups, thank you Alice."

"**Excellent Bella, clothes will be ready momentarily."**I could have sworn her voice picked up when I selected the hold ups, sometimes I wondered how real she _actually_ was. Hmmm.

I waited for the items to appear in my wardrobe and I went to clean my teeth. A few minutes later I heard the distinct drop of the clothes onto the shelf ready for me. Alice was such a comfort to me.

Struggling to tame my messy long brown hair was a daily ritual. I forcibly persuaded it to reside in a bun for the duration of my work day; otherwise it would do nothing but bother me all day long.

I could feel the crisp morning air brushing past my cheeks as I stopped outside my building waiting for Adam. When I decided to not renew my contract with JIG, I thought about taking a year off. The idea of course, was completely dismissed. What would I do? Travelling sounded nice, but I'd probably get bored, I hated being idle and lying on a beach all day didn't exactly appeal to me. Sure, I _liked _the sun, but I hadn't left the south of England for the past nine years.

Where _would _I go?

I think what bothered me most was the fact that I'd be alone, if I did decide to travel. I had very few friends and no-one to speak of, romantically.

Feeling moisture pool in my eyes I pulled myself together. Must be that time of the fucking month. Get a grip Bella, Jesus.

"Morning Bella. Sorry I'm late, queue at Nero's was a mess."

"S'fine, no worries. Let's go." I didn't mean to be short with Adam but as of now, I was in no fucking good mood.

I heard Sheila jump in her customary seat in the back of the car, and in less than ten minutes, we were at JIG. I paused at the front desk I knew to be seven steps before the entrance to the lift and handed in my key card for the door and conference room.

"It's filed under Bella Swan, any problems, tell Mr Jameson."

"Very good Miss."

The good thing about most secretaries is that because, most of the time, they worked for the most hellish bastards on earth they knew when _not_ to try and make conversation and keep it short.

The ping of floor number eighteen sounded and I was in heaven, basking in the silence filled top floor. Not many people were here this early and I had some calls to make before I left for lunch with James. Oh yay. Lunch with James. My subconscious had almost let me forget.

Almost.

I sipped the freshly brewed coffee in my left hand and came undone at the smell of my regular triple espresso. Neat, no sugar. Takes away the taste of the good stuff.

I spent the next three and a half hours sorting overdue emails, tying up my ends.

Focus Bella. You have people to call and more than likely people to shout at. I adjusted my position in my office chair and scrolled through the new contacts Carlisle had entered on my phone.

"Renee, list recently added phone numbers."

"**Jacob Black - 07648673513; Rosalie Hale ****– 07597866745; Ben Cheney – 07349973411**

Well, here goes nothing. I knew I'd have to make my arrangements sooner or later. 4 hours should be enough before I have to go to lunch.

"Thank you Renee, call Jacob Black."

"**Calling Jacob Black, call initiated."**

The click of the connecting phone sounded and I waited for Jacob Black to answer.

"Black chauffeur services, this is Jacob speaking."

Mmmm, gravelly rough voice. Almost husky. Jesus fucking Christ Bella! Sort out the hormones.

"Hi this is Bella Swan, Carlisle Cullen gave me your number."

"Oh, Miss Swan, hi, Mr Cullen mentioned that you'd be calling, you're the umm.."

"Blind girl, its ok, don't feel awkward about it."

"I didn't mean to say it like that I just well, y'know, cos you can't drive you'll be driven every day and need help with that kind of thing."

"No worries _Mr Black_, sure thing, so I'm gonna be a pretty big customer, you better be nice to me."

"It's Jacob, and I'm sure I can manage that."

"Excellent, listen, my contract with CGB should be sent over to you in the morning, I'm going to need you to pick me up at 5am every Monday-Friday at the Whittlefield apartment building and pick me up from the front doors of CGB at about 7 or 8 in the evening. Think you can handle that?"

"You get to work at five in the morning! Are out crazy?!"

"Well firstly, as of Monday, so do you Jacob, and no, not clinically crazy, just a perfectionist and very successful project manager."

"You know you're pretty intimidating over the phone."

"Wait till you meet me for real."

Pause…

"I was joking…you'll get used to that."

"Ok, ok, well, are there any other specifications?"

"Yeah, sure, sometimes I'll need someone to take me down to Holland Park, to walk my dog, and a couple of times a month I'll need to go to Maidstone in Kent to visit my Dad. Don't worry, I know this sounds a lot, but if you keep a tab of every journey just send me the bill each month and I'll send the money over."

"Sounds good, Monday morning then."

"Yeah, great. Oh Jacob! One more thing…"

"Yes…"

"If you show up at my door Monday morning with a triple espresso from Nero's round the corner from where I live, I _won't_ be a grumpy bitch in the morning."

"And if I don't." The kid didn't seem to be taking this seriously, amateurs…

"Let's not play games now Jacob, don't joke about that kind of shit with me. I'll see you Monday."

"Till then Miss Swan."

"Renee, end call with Jacob Black."

"**Call with Jacob Black ended."**

Oh bless. Unless he grew some the poor kid wouldn't last very long. Never mind. He can't be all that bad; Carlisle wouldn't have fed a sardine, to me, the proverbial shark.

Next on the list, Rosalie Hale. That name seemed familiar but I couldn't remember where I knew it from. Hmmm, very strange…

"Renee, call Rosalie Hale."

"**Calling Rosalie Hale, call initiated."**

The phone picked up almost instantly and I began to wonder why Carlisle had given me her number.

"Rosalie Hale speaking."

"Hello Rosalie, my name is Bella Swan, Carlisle Cullen gave me your number."

"Oh yes, you're the new PM at CGB."

Well well well. Good news _does_ travel fast.

"Yes that's right."

"You're calling for the upgrade on your Kaleidoscope, if we go through fittings and preferences I can have it completely updated by sometimes next week."

Holy shit! Was she… a personal shopper?! Papa Cullen's gonna get it.

"You want to…buy clothes for me?"

"No Bella sweetie, you pay, I just buy. I'm a model the rest of the time so I'll fit you out with some lovely goodies."

"I can't wait." I hoped my tone didn't sound too flat, never mind.

"Ok, so I already have your address, how does Saturday morning at ten sound for fittings."

"Great, I'll see you then."

"Fantastic, bye now."

"Renee, end call with Rosalie Hale."

"**Call with Rosalie Hale ended."**

_I'm a model the rest of the time._ Oh shit! Rosalie Hale was a model for Vogue. I'd heard someone mention her name in the office before. Something about an annual "Most Successful Women of the Year" feature. I knew it sounded familiar.

I finished tidying my desk and after tripping over Sheila half a dozen times, completely my fault, I decided to call Ben.

"Renee, time check and call Ben Cheney."

"**Time is 12.26 and calling Ben Cheney."**

Oh fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I have half an hour at most until my stupid lunch with James and I still had to call Ben and freshen up. I didn't have time.

"Renee, cancel call to Ben Cheney."

"**Call to Ben Cheney cancelled."**

After going into the bathroom adjoining my office I out some make up on, hoping I didn't look too haggard as I never used the damn stuff. If I did it now, then I wouldn't have to do it again before dinner with the Cullens. Excellent plan Bella.

"**Call from Carlisle Cullen; accept or reject."**

What the hell Papa Cullen! I'm busy. Grumble grumble.

"Better be good Papa Cullen, I've go lunch with JJ in half an hour and I'm already annoyed."

"Calm it BB, just calling to say that because Esme literally, can't wait, I'm sending a car to pick you up at 3. That ok?"

Early dinner with the Cullens?! Not even a crazy bitch like me says no to that.

"Papa C, I can't wait! Can you have me picked up from Locatelli's instead?"

"Sure thing little one, we all can't wait to see you."

"I know, I've missed you guys so much."

"Yep, it'll be you, me, Esme and Edward. Won't that be nice?"

_What?_

"But..umm..Carlisle, I'm not supposed to meet Edward till _Monday_."

"Yeah I know BB, never mind eh? Gotta go, see you around 5.30."

Bastard.

I sat there fuming for God knows how long when my blackberry, of all the fuckery, started humming.

"**Appointment for Bella Swan with James Jameson in five minutes."**

Erm…kill me now?

Lunch with James, was, well. I don't want to really go there again. Constantly touching my arm and nudging my foot under the table. If I didn't find him repulsive, no, actually, I probably still wouldn't have enjoyed that.

The food though, holy hell that shit was good.

Sitting in the car on the way to the Cullen's, my stomach was happy having been satisfied and I looked forward to sipping tea with Esme talking about our lives from the past year.

"Miss, we've arrived, Sheila's out of the car and Mr Cullen is here to meet you."

Papa Cullen was gonna get it good, and before we even got in the house.

"Carlisle you ass!" In what I believed was a very believable Washington accent as I thumped him in the chest playfully. Well, maybe not that playfully.

Wow, Carlisle had really been working out, there's not many en in their mid forties with that broad a chest.

"It's nice to meet you too Miss Swan. Excuse me, I would further our introductions, but I'm scared for my health."

Oh no, oh no, oh no. That would be Mr _Edward _Cullen.

I had just introduced myself to my boss, by _thumping _him.

"Umm, I – oh God. I'm really sorry, Mr Cullen."

"I'll see you Monday Miss Swan."

Shit!!!

I could hear Carlisle laughing like a hyena from the front steps and I tried to reign in my embarrassment.

So much for first impressions…

**Thank you for reading guys! Let me know what you think.**

**Any questions / suggestions = always welcome.**

**Till n****ext week! **


	3. Edward Cullen

**Hey!!**

**21 reviews?! I'm so pleased that people like this so far and would like to thank all of you, also the people who added the story to their favourites and put this on story alert. Big smiles!**

**Sorry about the delay for update, I'm going to try and go every week, but, we'll see.**

**Here we go…**

**Chapter 3 – Edward Cullen**

_I could hear Carlisle laughing like a hyena from the front steps and I tried to reign in my embarrassment._

_So much for first impressions…_

"Bella, you should eat more sweetheart, are you feeling ok?"

"Esme, I'm fine, I already ate lunch at Locatelli's today with my boss. Then I came straight here."

I could hear Papa C snickering and even after being here and Esme telling me that far more embarrassing things had happened to her, I still felt bad.

"It's not _funny_ Carlisle! Can you imagine how _incompetent _he probably thinks I am now?"

"Seriously Bella, enough of this now, stop worrying. Since when do you give a shit about what people think of you?"

"Carlisle, you watch your language!" Now it was my turn to snicker, we cursed like sailors at work and I had to remind myself to keep my mouth clean and lady-like, just for tonight. I had far too much respect for Esme to do otherwise.

"Sorry Esme, love, it's just; don't you think Bella's worrying too much?"

""Of course, but anyone wants to make a good impression on their first day at work, and Bella hasn't even got to Monday yet, and she already feels as though she's mucked up. Am I right sweetheart?"

"Hit the nail on the head Esme. Now, I'm not going to worry about it anymore and just walk in on Monday and pretend like nothing happened."

"And obviously try to not to bruise him."

I heard a thwack and I knew she'd given him the wooden spoon.

"Now say sorry to Bella."

"Esme's right, BB I'm sorry, we good?"

"Course we are Papa C. Now because I've so graciously forgiven you, I want you to tell me some stuff about Edward, wait, why _did_ he leave so early?"

Maybe he's really dedicated and got a call from work, if that was the case, Carlisle didn't give him enough credit, if he left his family for work, some people might view that as cold, but when there's work to do, you have to make sacrifices. I admired that.

Nobody said anything and I presumed it was a bit of a sensitive subject. I wondered why.

"Carlisle if he has to leave to go back to the office, you know that's fine. Hell, I'm always staying late and sometimes, even though I want to, I don't get to see Charlie each weekend."

Esme was the one to speak up.

"I don't think it was work, dear."

"Well, you know, it might have been, Carlisle back me up on this."

"Bella, I think you're putting a bit too much _faith_ in Edwards…work values. He got a call from one of his…_friends_, and just up and left. Inexcusable."

"Well, do you know, not like her?"

"Who dear?"

"Edward's girlfriend. If that's who he went to see."

"BB, Edward's never brought anyone home; I doubt he's even had what you'd call a, girlfriend."

Unfortunately, it sounded like my new boss was actually going to turn out quite similar to my old boss. Shame, I was hoping I'd be promoted into _not_ having a man whore boss. I was really hoping I was wrong about him.

"So, Papa C, are we talking James Jameson kind of behaviour?"

Silence…

"Carlisle…"

"From what I've heard, he's a level up from JJ."

"Carlisle dear, you don't know that, office rumours can be so far fetched."

"Esme, Aro told me."

"Ah."

"Papa C, when you said you wanted me to sort Edward out with his job, you didn't just mean professionally did you."

"Well, no, maybe not. But, look, I don't want you to babysit him or anything."

"Damn straight, because I sure as hell won't."

"Listen BB. He just needs a bit of discipline and direction. We've honestly tried our best with him, but, we can't _be there_ at work and when he's making all these mistakes. Soon, if he doesn't start correcting this, mentality, it's going to start affecting him professionally."

And then I understood. I didn't have to be able to _see _to know that they were both just, _tired_, of supporting him. From what I had already heard from Carlisle they'd paid for him to go through private tuition, private school, a place at a prestigious university, and business school in Italy. They didn't want to shelter him anymore, but, at the moment, he just wasn't _quite_ ready to stand on his own two feet. Especially in this fucked up business.

And more than that, I think they were _embarrassed_ to have to ask _me _mentor their son. Carlisle had been working too hard for too long, and Esme the same, they deserved this and I knew if they asked me to do anything, ultimately, I could never say no to them.

"Bella, we wouldn't ask you, if we didn't think you could make a difference, we –"

"Esme, its fine. I'll do it, I'll do whatever you need me to do to help Edward."

Two pairs of arms wrapped themselves around me and I could have cried for how happy I was to have these two wonderful people back in my life again. It felt so good to know that they loved me, pretty much like a daughter, and even though sometimes I felt bad for being a burden, they were the best non-parents I could have asked for.

"Well enough of that, Esme dear, I think, even though it is a little late, that we should congratulate Bella for the fantastic job she did with those dogs at JIG."

"Oh yes Bella, we read about it in the paper, they didn't cover it very well, but then, I would have been surprised if they had, but we wanted to let you know how proud of you we are. Carlisle, dear, can you get a bottle of champagne?"

"Absolutely, we should celebrate. I'll be right back."

I heard his retreating footsteps into what I presumed would be the pantry and turned my body round in my chair to talk to Esme."

"Well, dear, now the man's gone, let's us girls talk."

She giggled in a way that definitely didn't convince anyone that she was in her early forties, I could imagine her being radiant, and in a way I remember my mother being.

Silence…I knew what she wanted to ask me, she had done every time we spoke.

"Just say it Esme."

......

"So…Bella is there anyone special."

"Other than my dog?" I patted Sheila head which was resting on my knee for good measure. She whined softly, indicating she wanted a bit more attention.

"Yes Bella, is there a _man_ in your life?"

Bingo.

I wondered whether or not to tease her, that would be cruel and she's get all excited for no reason.

Never mind.

"Well, there is someone new."

"Really? Tell me about him. I want to know everything."

"Well, I've only just met him; in fact we've only talked on the phone so far. He seems nice."

"When are you seeing him?"

"I'm _meeting_ him Monday morning; we're going for a drive."

"Ooooh, where to?"

"To CGB, he's my new driver." I couldn't hold on any longer and let the laughter out. Esme gasped, realising I wasn't serious and huffed.

"Bella don't be sarcastic! So I presume there isn't anyone?" I shook my head, still laughing. "You got me all excited for nothing. I just worry about you, up there in that apartment all alone."

"I have Sheila."

I felt her tail go thud appreciatively against the chair leg and snorted. My dog was always so happy.

"Bella, Sheila is your dog, you need a _person._"

"I don't have _time_ Esme, the hours I work, the job I do, just doesn't allow for anything else. And you know what,

I'm happy with that. Sure it gets lonely some of the time, but I don't have a lot of free time to think about it. It's ok, really."

"Bella, dear, you're really not that good a liar. But, if you don't want me to interfere. I just hope my son's behaviour with women doesn't you know, put you off. You deserve to be happy sweetheart."

"Thank you Esme, but I'm just not interested in meaningless relationships, until I know it's the real thing. It just seems pointless otherwise."

"Yes, but maybe, it would be good, to, I don't know, see what's out there."

I laughed at this.

"Esme, are you actually _suggesting_ promiscuity?"

"No, not quite, but maybe a more, relaxed view on relationships. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think it's wonderful how much you value yourself and you're not like, well, not like some of the girls I've accidently seen Edward with in the past. But it wouldn't hurt to open yourself up a bit."

"Maybe…"

I felt so relieved when I heard Carlisle come back in the room. I rarely drunk at all but after that conversation, I didn't _want_ to be coherent.

"Esme, is a '92 Bollinger ok? I saw a Dom Perignon but I'm not so keen on the taste."

"Of course, Carlisle, use the glasses from the top cupboard, will you?"

Esme must have seen the now peaceful look on my face compared to the tension I felt earlier and she leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"I'll call you during the week, at work, to continue our little chat."

I groaned in despair, infallible woman.

"Everything alright?"

"Yep. Can I have some bubbles now." Popping the 'p'.

"You know BB, most people call it champagne, and do you want any tea?"

"Yeah well," pointing at myself, "I'm not most people am I? And I'll just have a filter coffee. Thanks!"

"Sure thing. Esme can you do the tea?"

"Of course dear. Bella you know you shouldn't drink too much coffee."

"Oh don't worry Esme, I've been cutting down."

_Bella Swan you liar, six cups of double strength yesterday!_

My subconscious is clearly far too moral, this must be remedied. I justified myself that it was from Nero's, and was one of the only times I'd been able to get out of the office for lunch. I couldn't take office coffee anymore.

I couldn't help smiling when I said it; I really am a bad liar.

"BB, you're such a liar! You'd need therapy to curb your addiction."

"Yeah I know, but, it's fine, I'm not in denial, the coffee thing isn't a _problem_ for me."

"You're the only girl I know who'd sip champagne and then coffee."

I sipped the golden bubbles and they danced around my mouth and down my throat. And then picked up my coffee, which was the _shit_, I might add, and sipped that, not so delicately.

"Mmmmhmmm. So good."

"I give up, Bella, you go and ruin your teeth if you have to."

I began shaking my head and recounted to her my visit to the dentist last week.

"Last week, Mr Gerandy said my teeth looked great, no fillings needed no crown, nothing. I got some good pearly whites."

I beamed up at both of them and felt Sheila sleeping on my knee, poor girl must have been tired; it's been a long week. I stroked her head lovingly hoping I didn't wake her up.

"Aside from BB's addiction, I think we should toast to your success at JIG, and the even better job and time you're going to have at CGB. To Bella!"

We clinked glasses, if somewhat haphazardly and drank to my previous and impending success, I was starting to look forward to the prospect of working somewhere different. A new job was always exciting.

"Esme, what's the time?" I knew it must be late, but it felt like I'd just got here.

"9.30 Bella, do you need to get back?"

I could hear the disappointment in her voice which I felt too, it had been so long since I'd last seen them and I felt bad for having neglected them, if only for my work.

"Yeah I do really, I mean poor Sheila's pooped and it's been a busy week."

Esme sighed and she sounded, impatient.

"Bella, honey, you know you can stay here anytime you want."

I smiled. Their generosity knew no bounds.

"I know, and thank you, but I have a meeting in the morning with Rosalie Hale, which by the way Carlisle, we have to talk about."

I heard him chuckling and I knew that he knew what I meant.

"Carlisle, call a car for Bella to take her back home. And Bella, I _know_ we're going to talk next week but I'd like to have dinner with you and Edward in a few weeks, you know just to make sure everything is ok."

"I'm sure it will be, and I'd love to."

I left Esme and Carlisle fifteen minutes later and allowed my eyes to close in the car on the way home as we sped along the quiet roads to my apartment. I hadn't been so content in a while, I felt like I had my family back.

I vaguely remember being greeted at the apartment building and taken up to my door by Frank, and climbing into bed.

But it didn't seem like nine hours ago!

Renee told me as soon as I woke up that it was eight thirty, certainly the latest I ever remember waking up. I was an early riser and didn't usually sleep well. This morning was different, I felt refreshed instead of groggy and there was a lack of instant desire for caffeine. Maybe my body doesn't need it anymore…

_Silly Bella!_

Crafty subconscious. I probably wasn't even awake enough yet to register my need for a morning wake up coffee. That's what oversleeping does to you, what a ridiculous hour to wake up.

_FUCK!_

I had a meeting with Rosalie Hale this morning, that's why I had to leave the Cullens early! Oh God. And I had to run this morning with Sheila, because bless her, we always went running at the weekend and she'd never miss an opportunity to go to Holland Park.

It was one of the places I didn't need someone to help me get to, Sheila would know _her_ way blind and still manage to keep me out the way of obstacles. I hauled myself out of my extremely comfortable bed and felt my way around for my water. If I couldn't have coffee then I at least wouldn't die of thirst, exhaustion maybe, but not thirst.

Walking around my bedside cabinet, over my dog and into the bathroom, it felt nice to brush my teeth as I had obviously neglected to do last night. I hated the taste of stale-in-the-mouth-coffee-and-anything-else-you-drunk-the-night-before.

I knew if I was going to get out I had to wake up the pixie.

"Morning Alice, select category: running clothes."

"**Morning Bella! Running clothes option selected, leggings, sports bra, running shoes, socks, knickers and sweatshirt. Is this acceptable?"**

Why did she have to have _such_ a high pitched voice, this early in the morning?

_Earth to lazy bones, it's eight fucking thirty! Get your ass out!_

"Thank you Alice, options are acceptable. System standby."

"Sheila! Wake up girl we're going to the park. Going for a run."

1…,2…, I heard the sound that only dogs can make when they get their bodies up and moving, causing destruction to the poor objects in her way in the process.

She trotted over to my side and jumped up to my side, clearly excited and looking forward to this _much_ more than I was. That wasn't exactly difficult though.

Now dressed and halfway out the door I grabbed her collar and hoped I'd be able to get a decent run for Sheila _and_ get back showered and dressed, at least half way to presentable ready in time to meet Rosalie. I was faced with an important decision, _to bring or not bring the blackberry._

My decision was made for me as I attached it to the belt on my leggings and grabbed my iPod, switching it on to shuffle and smiled when the sound of Lady Gaga reached my ears. She was on the verge of freaky and brilliant, which was why I loved her. I could run to this.

Good thing Holland Park was literally, round the corner from my apartment, and as I was running, I wondered what I would do if I didn't live so near. I tried to come at least twice a week to revel in the beauty of the place.

Ten minutes in and we'd reached the hill, I felt my thighs start to burn but I ignored it as I remembered the first time I came here, when I could see. I must have been about twelve years old. Charlie and Renee were still together and as far as my twelve year old self could tell, happily married. I probably missed so many signs, but looking back, I guess that was best, if I could have seen my parents' marriage falling apart. It would have been horrible.

_Jesus Swan, get your shit together already!_

I loved how my subconscious kept me right on track.

We ran for another half an hour, and after I'd told Sheila to take me home, I showered and managed to cover myself in a robe before my bell rang

_Swell timing Swan._

"Bella Swan? It's Rosalie Hale, we had an appointment."

I did plan on looking half decent, but the robe would have to do.

I deftly unlocked the door and welcomed her in.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you, come in."

"Nice place, Carlisle says you've been here three years."

"Yep, do you want a drink?"

"No, I'm good thank you, do you mind if we go to the wardrobe."

"Ok, sure, it's just along the corridor, first room on the right; you'll see it as soon as you go in."

I heard her feet pad quickly along my hallway tiles and sat myself down on the sofa, turning up my sound system and selecting some classical music to listen to.

_Ahh the soothing tones of Puccini._

"Bella, do you have _any_ idea how much work there is to do?"

"Rosalie, no offense, but Esme just wanted you to update my wardrobe or whatever, Christ, it's not hard."

"Seriously, first I checked your underwear drawer, you don't own a single thong, not even one, and I was treated to high rise cottons. Not to mention the bras, I was more adventurous at _fifteen_. Don't even get me started on the clothes." She huffed exasperatedly.

"Fucking hell, get to the point won't you?" Who the hell did she think she was? So what, I dressed more, conservatively than women my age. Do I give a shit? Mais…non.

"Look, I'm sorry, it's just that this whole thing is going to take a whole lot longer than I originally thought. We're talking weeks instead of days."

"I don't care. Really, I don't. This shit makes Esme happy so that's what we're gonna do."

"Bella, you need a whole new wardrobe, and I only do this shit part-time."

"I know, believe me I'm in no rush for a make-over, how about this, you include it into the fee charge, talk it through with Jenks and we talk this over again in three weeks. That ok?"

It sounded like she breathed a sigh of relief; maybe she thought I was a prima donna who wanted everything done there and then. That I most certainly was _not. _

I felt two thin arms wrap themselves around me and almost choked on her thickhair.

"Thank you so much Bella, you're quickly becoming my favourite client, even if you are lacking in the lingerie department. But don't worry, that's all going to change!"

Oh _yay._ Can't wait, I just hope she doesn't try and Barbie-fy me. I couldn't see Rosalie, but I just knew she was pretty, she was obviously tall, hell, she was probably perfect. Vogue models aren't exactly average looking.

"So, I'm going to make a list of everything we need, I'll have it sent over to you, I'll talk you through everything I buy, and obviously I'll have to take some measurements for the gowns."

Oh hell no! "Gowns?"

"For the benefit, and when Edward officially takes over the company, Carlisle specifically requested several items that would be appropriate for things like that. I already have a few ideas, and to be honest, I'm pretty excited."

"Oh, me too!" My voice dripping with sarcasm.

I think she stayed for a couple of hours; I was busy being mortified about the prospect of ball…gowns. Dresses were, well, scary as shit. And events with people outside of the office, when we weren't at work. Well blow me down and call me sally that shit had me scared. How I hate thee Papa Cullen…let me count the ways.

Monday morning came round quickly and I was so glad of it, Jacob arrived 5 minutes early with a steaming hot double espresso and a cheese twist pastry thing.

"Oh Jacob, you've surpassed yourself, I ask for an espresso, you bring me a double, and something with cheese in it. I think we're gonna get along well."

I didn't have time to eat the cheese pastry before the morning meeting but I obviously made time for the coffee. I was so glad that he hadn't automatically thought I'd take sugar, I personally hate the stuff, takes away the taste of coffee, which is what the whole fucking point is.

Even better he didn't talk in the car, a quiet, double-espresso-bringing driver. I was one happy girl.

Because I go into work early I managed to meet the head of IT support, Ben Cheney, before his day really started, whose number Carlisle had given me already. The guy was shy, I mean _really_ shy. He laughed when I told him I was "fucking ecstatic" that he seemed to know more about IT support than just telling me to reboot the fucking computer every time something went wrong. Genius.

Although my swearing did seem to make him even shyer, and since he was going to have to move heaven and earth to install Renee, I decided to cut down a bit on the cursing. Just around him. Everyone else can be subjected to the fuckery.

Speaking of fuckery, where was Edward Cullen? I'd done a time check about half an hour ago and it was ten o'clock. Unless he was already out visiting clients… maybe he wasn't such a fuck up after all. I'd asked his assistant, a Miss Angela Weber to let me know, the _moment _he got in.

_Tick tok, tick fucking tok. _

Three hours, three motherfucking _hours_ later at one o'clock in the _afternoon_, I received a call from Miss Weber, sounding fucking tired, to tell me to have the notes ready for Mr Edward fucking Cullen when he walked in, from the meeting that he had _neglected_ to attend.

Was this just any old meeting, I hear you ask? Hell no. This was a board of directors meeting, the _worst kind_ of meeting. And as if that wasn't shitty enough, the CEO of the company, found this not to be on the list of his important things to do today. I almost screamed at Angela when she had no fucking clue where he was, he hadn't spoken to her _all day_, hadn't even opened his emails.

I had sat there, with Sheila, whose paws were more supportive of me than my current boss, being asked where the CEO is. Do I look like I fucking know? Jesus, that shit was embarrassing. I wish I could have said, "Mr Cullen, oh sorry, he'll be late today, he's just being strung up by his balls for being a fucktard." Unfortunately, that shit wouldn't have flown well.

It took me several moments to reorganise my fuckery into coherency, Angela didn't know where Golden Boy was, because he wasn't allowing her to do her job. She'd burst into tears and was on the verge of hysterics, at least _someone_ knew how important this was supposed to be.

I though about calling Papa Cullen, but mothers' life, it wasn't even the end of my _first _day and he's already pissed me off. And I haven't actually spoken to him properly yet. This is going to be fun.

"Mr Cullen's line. How may I help?"

"Angela, sorry, I'm being lazy, Sheila's sleeping so I can't come over there, can you tell the two polish guys on the door downstairs to have a fucking siren go off when that idiot gets in?"

"Yes Miss Swan."

"Bella."

"I beg your pardon."

"Sweetheart, you work for a Cullen, and you've been great today, you've _earned_ the fucking right to call me by my first name."

"Thank you…Bella. I'll let you know when Mr Cullen arrives."

"Excellent. Thank you."

I ended up pacing along the length of my office, being careful to not disturb Sheila when I received a call from Demetri in the foyer, efficient bugger, to tell me that our boy was here. Fan-fucking-tastic, now I can verbally rip his balls off.

"Miss Sw—Bella."

"Yes Angela?"

"I'll drop that file over, it seems as if Mr Cullen has a guest accompanying him."

"Ok, thank you. As soon as Mr Cullen has finished with his client, send him over to me."

"Yes ma'am."

I was starting to like Angela, she was shy, but had a little sense of humour that peeked through, nice.

_Tick tok, tick tok._

The not-so-proverbial clock was ticking and my patience was wearing down.

"Renee, time check please?"

"**Good afternoon Miss Swan, time check is 13.37."**

"Thank you Renee, system standby."

"Angela, sorry, me again, have you given the files to Mr Cullen."

"Um, no, well, I--, um couldn't."

Oh God.

I tried to sound as patient as possible.

_It's not her fault her boss is an incompetent dick._

"Why not?"

"He's busy, with a _friend_." She sounded nervous.

I hate it when people actually _give_ me an excuse to hate them. Here we go…

"Angela, is this friend a _woman."_

"Yes, Tanya Denali, from HR, they've um…been _talking_ for quite some time. I tried to see Mr Cullen, but, he's, well, locked the door." Poor lamb was trying to defend him, well, he is her boss. Actually, scrap that, the poor lamb was _intimidated_. Holy crap.

Yep, he's asking for a bollocking. I put up with fuckery everyday from egotistical bastards, but something that is never, _ever_, fucking ok, is sex in the office. I knew from the tone her voice that that's what it voice. I would bet my apartment that they weren't in there reading the phone book.

"Ok, Angela" Breathe Bella, breathe. "Sheila's still asleep, so would you mind taking me to Mr Cullen's office, pronto."

Within five minutes, I was standing outside a locked door, file in hand, which I promptly dropped on the floor, he'd see it if he crawled out of his cave, which had clearly _not_ been soundproofed. Pressing my ear to the door I heard the very distinct sounds of moans, groans, gritted teeth and panting. Fucking _panting. _

_Detective Bella, your suspicions are correct, the CEO is fucking some good for nothing whore, at two o'clock in the afternoon in his office. What do you propose?_

Punishment? Hmmm – bollocking.

I gestured for Angela to take me back to my office, still wearing a disgusted look on my face. This kind of shit was not the kind I expected here, I don't even think Carlisle knew about office sex, concerning Edward.

I left my office door open and apparently, ten minutes later, the Cullen-whore left in a huff as she tottered past my door. Or so Angela told me.

I received an incoming call on my intercom, which was either coming from Golden Boy's office or the conference room. And I knew that at the moment, the main conference room was _empty. _

"Swan! I wanted that file ten minutes ago, on my desk, it's outside my door, are you fucking blind?!"

Count to ten…1….2….3…..4

Motherfucker!!!

"No Cullen, I _cannot_ see your office, because yes, dickhead, I AM blind and I don't want to walk in and listen to you fucking Tanya Denali!"

"How dare you talk to me in that way, I am your boss, don't you have any respect!?"

Oh, so CEO-who-misses-major-crisis-meeting-and-who-I-just-caught-fucking-an-employee, wants to talk to _me_ about respect.

I decided to play calm, _play_ I said. That shit was always scary.

"Mr Cullen, I do not feel it is appropriate for you to firstly, talk to _me_ about respect, and to secondly continue this conversation over an intercom, please step into my office."

I swivelled around in my chair, brushing my hand through my mane of hair as I straightened me shirt. I heard the door close, and slow footsteps make their way around to the other side of my desk. Breathed a deep sigh I began my assault.

"Who, the _hell _do you think you are?"

"And hello to you too Bella, not throwing punches today?" His voice was dripping with a smug, cocky, over-confident attitude, but it was a smooth, seductive, just-the-right-amount-of –American-accent-without-being-too-annoying, voice too.

_He. Is. Going. Down. _

Here we go; this is going to be _brutal._

**Dun, dun, dunnn…. I'm so looking forward to putting him through his paces…**

**So…what did you think? I didn't know whether this was a bit too slow, pace-wise or not, so a couple of words yay or nay would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!**

**Any ideas / suggestions / questions, please feel free to leave me a note. **

**Aurora x**


	4. Decisions

**Aww I'm so happy everyone likes it so far, and I'm sorry it's been forever since I last updated. RL has been a bitch, but this has been on my mind so much. **

**18 reviews for one chapter, **** don't laugh, this means A LOT to me. I'd be pretty fucking happy if just one person enjoyed it to be honest. **

**Anyway, enjoy and leave me a little something at the end? Yes? **

_Last time…_

"_And hello to you too Bella, not throwing punches today?" His voice was dripping with a smug, cocky, over-confident attitude, but it was a smooth, seductive, just-the-right-amount-of –American-accent-without-being-too-annoying, voice too. _

_He. Is. Going. Down. _

_Here we go; this is going to be brutal._

**Chapter 4 – Decisions**

Pinching the bridge of my nose with my forefinger and thumb I took deep soothing breaths.

Remember Bella; Carlisle and Esme still want their son. You're doing this for them. Pull it together.

Explain the problem, then rectify, and then, if all else fails, castrate.

"Sit down please Mr Cullen."

"C'mon Bella, we're going to be working together, call me Edward."

I still hadn't heard his annoying ass in the chair opposite me, how hard was one simple instruction. I really hoped I got through this without shouting.

Now, that shit right there, that's not gonna happen.

"Mr Cullen, I'll thank you to address me as Miss Swan, and please, take a, seat. "

I began as soon as soon as I heard the leather stretch to accommodate his frame. You just can't beat leather chairs; the smell is just fucking amazing. Speaking of good smelling shit, coffee, now _that_ is the best smell to wake up to. Mmmmm coffee. I'd kill for a double espresso, or, hold the phone, even a triple.

Oh gods Bella, focus.

"Now, I appreciate that we technically haven't been properly introduced yet, but I think in light of, well, the frankly embarrassing behaviour I've seen today, we're way past that."

Silence…

I love it when the incompetents at least know when to be _quiet._

"How long have you been at this company?"

"3 months."

Less than I thought, fucking hell he moves fast, maybe the damage can be repaired.

"And how long have you been fucking Miss Denali?"

"I really don't think that's _any_ of your business, _Miss Swan_."

"How long?"

"I think, as your _boss_, I'm the one who gets to answer the questions I want, _you_ work for _me_."

Excellent ladies and gentleman, we've got ourselves a cocky bastard.

"Actually Mr Cullen, I'm contracted with Carlisle, he's the one who hired me, to, if I remember correctly, whip you into shape."

"I'm fine as I am."

"Yeah, right." I snorted. "You may be happy with what you're doing, but you've obviously forgotten, in the very short time you've been here, that you are responsible for a great many more people than yourself."

"God you sound like Carlisle."

"You know, I'll take that as a compliment, the fact that I resemble a successful, well put together, mature individual. Save your petty insults Mr Cullen."

"Whatever, I don't have to listen to this."

_Oh hell no, petulant child, much?!_

"Oh grow up seriously; do you think I want to be sitting here, telling you how to do your job?"

"By the looks of things, you have nothing better to do."

"_You_ think you have a right to judge _my_ lifestyle? When not two hours ago you were fucking someone in your office?"

"I'm just saying that I've got a lot more going on. Actually, I have something on tonight, so can we like wrap this up?"

Composure, you there? Nope, out the window.

I rang through to Angela, it was five o'clock, hopefully she was still at her desk, and she should be.

"Angela cancel Mr Cullen's engagements for the..;"

"_What - -?!!" _The muffled tones of my _boss_ went ignored.

I held my hand up in a silent gesture. "Cancel his evening plans, and re-schedule his return car for the same time as mine."

"Yes Miss,. Umm Bella."

"And Angela…?"

"Yes Bella?"

Such a sweet girl, she must be going crazy as PA for this dick. I could worship her.

"You can head on home now, something tells me you're gonna need your rest this week. In fact, you can come in at ten tomorrow. I'll need some one on one time with Mr Cullen to run through some things before then."

"Bella, are you sure?"

"Absolutely, good afternoon Miss Weber, have a nice day."

"You too Bella."

Sigh, back to Dickward. Oh Bella that's a good one, but we can't call the baby that to his face. Holy mother of Christ!

New name: Baby Cullen.

This is going to be good for tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future. Hmmm maybe it'll stick _forever._

Back to the interrogation…

"My PA gets to call you by your first name."

"She's earned my respect; the poor girl's been working for you all this time and still seems relatively unscathed. With you, this may take a while." A very, very long while.

"Whatever."

"Seriously, stop acting like a teenager, and widen your vocabulary. I'm going to ask you some questions, I know this is going to stretch you a bit, but all I need is simple answers. Capiche? Think you can handle that?"

"Yes."

I rolled my eyes, "fast learner", I mumbled.

"I'll repeat my earlier question, how long have you been fucking Miss Denali?"

"3 months."

"But you've-…" YOU'VE ONLY BEEN HERE THREE MONTHS MAN WHORE.

"Yeah," I could tell he had a smug grin on his face, "I christened my desk, only _hours_ after my arrival."

Holy fuck! Does sex have absolutely no value any more? Does the term _making love_ not exist?

"You sicken me." I couldn't help but twist my face disgustedly, which only made him laugh.

"What are you, stuck in the 19th Century?"

"No, I just value my body enough to _not_ throw it around to the highest bidder."

"Prude."

"Cut the name calling crap and grow up! Back to the questions."

"Fine with me." Stupid smirk, if only violence in the office was acceptable, I'd be a very happy girl.

"I will be recommending to your father that he write officially to the HR department to have Miss Denali moved to work in the New York office. Will you oppose this?"

"What's all the fuss? I don't see a problem to be honest, she's fine with the way things are, and I'm definitely alright. It's nothing serious."

"Mr Cullen, your office is not a sex location. The next few months leading up to this project are crucial, not to mention that you officially take over the company before Christmas, which is fucking frightening seeing as it's already September."

"It's still none of your business."

"Yes, it, fucking is! I have to do my job, and help you---,"

"I don't need your help."

I laughed; the naivety of this man was astounding.

"Oh really? So why did your father have to practically beg me to come here to sort out this shit, since you are clearly incapable?"

"Oh great. Bring out the Daddy card why don't you? Look, I'm not going to beg for your help if that's want you want. You think you can use your blindness as an excuse to boss people around, what makes you so special?"

Bringing out the big guns Cullen, let's go for the obvious, the bitch is blind, that'll emotionally shatter her.

"I don't want you to beg. I have never since I lost my sight asked people to make allowances for me because of my disadvantage. I am perfectly capable and successful at my job, with or without my sight. I don't boss people, I manage them. Being a project manager, there is a considerable aspect of interaction with people involved. With enough life experience you'll learn that."

"We're the same age."

"Biologically, yes, but I've been around a few companies, doing all kinds of different projects with many different degrees of fucked up idiot. Fuck, I even have more experience of this company than you."

"Blow your own trumpet, go on."

"Shut up! I'm making comparisons. You on the other hand, have been to one of the best business schools in Europe, and technically, you have the knowledge to run this company efficiently and _successfully_."

"God slow down, you're making me blush." Sarcasm, Baby Cullen, at this point is not appreciated.

"I'm not finished. You could do all this, if you actually worked hard, and put the hours in. What time do you get in the office in the morning?"

"About ten am normally." I gasped, I have about four and a half hours on Baby Cullen, and this is just the morning.

Holy shit!

"And what time do you leave?"

"Well, on an average day, I'd say about five, but if there's a meeting going on it can get to just before six."

I really can't believe I'm hearing this. I can barely remember the last time I left the office at five. I was what you'd call a grafter, and a fucking perfectionist.

"Oh, so you do actually _attend_ meetings, you know, normally?"

"Today was an exception; I was already busy with something."

"No, correction, your _dick_ was busy with something; you had no reasonable excuse to miss a board of directors meeting. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was? Here I am, I've just finished my last job at JIG, on Friday and I'm hauled in here to work with a CEO who doesn't even attend a board meeting. What the hell am I supposed to think?"

I stared at him with what I hoped was incredulity but probably came out as more disappointed than anything.

"Look, you're the one who accepted the job, you should be prepared for what comes with it, or, Miss Swan, are you really _that _naïve?"

"I hardly accepted the job, I'm doing this _for your father_, he tried to prepare me for your fucked-up mess but I was not expecting something as vile and unprofessional as sex in the office, which by the way, will never _EVER _happen again."

"Carlisle has nothing to do with this."

"Bullshit, he has everything to do with it. The fact that you've been here three months and the company is still, somehow functioning well, must at least show you what good starting material you had."

"Do you really have to swear, all the time?"

"What would you prefer, unsavoury language, or me throwing a phone at your head every time you piss me off. Because for me, the word _fuck_ substitutes that quite nicely."

"Alright."

"What, alright, what?"

"I'll do it, whatever shit you want me to do, to whip me into shape, your words not mine."

"Honestly, I don't think you can handle it."

"Look, Miss Swan, you may think you know me because of the …impression I've given today and because what my parents have said but trust me, I can do better."

"It's not just about doing better; it's about working hard and wanting to make this job a success. Are you ready to fight for this? Do you even fucking want this? You have to make that decision before anything else."

Silence…

Think on that fucker…

"Bell- Miss Swan, do you want something to drink?"

"Fuckery _and_ alcohol in the office, Mr Cullen, you've surpassed even my expectations." Classic deadpan Bella.

"No, fuck, I mean just a regular drink, tea, coffee, water?"

Hmmm, let's see about a little test Baby Cullen.

"Surprise me."

"Really? Wait, if this is some trial to see how well I do and whether I get it right or not, then you gotta give me more than that."

"Ok, here's a clue, go to Café Nero, it's about a five minute walk from here and bring me back a drink, and of course something for yourself."

"Cold or hot drink?"

Now Baby Cullen, that would be telling.

"No way, that'll make it too easy. And don't you ask anyone there for a hint. I'll know if you did." Clearly realising that those were the only instructions he was going to get, he got up and I soon heard his quick footfalls out of my office and along the corridor. I could hazard a guess that we were probably the only ones still here on this floor. The only other people who could have been here still would have been Angela, but she's gone already, or directors and global heads of shit. I'd bet my apartment that they'd all left after the directors meeting that Baby Cullen didn't attend.

Fuck that was tense, and not to mention embarrassing as hell. I could feel every single one of them looking at me like I was a fucking idiot. My mentee, who just happened to be the _reason_ for the meeting was M.I.A and this was also the first time we were all introduced. Due to my abrupt, unorthodox appointment as an SMP, senior project manager, by Carlisle, not one of them ever got the chance to interview me, which would have been the normal procedure. But, what Papa Cullen wants, he fucking gets, and shit happens to the 't'.

So yeah, they all felt inadequate and unimportant because some like me had been hired pretty much overnight. To be honest, in reality, I didn't give a flying fuck, because, hell, I'm a contractor and I'm only here for two years but they've got themselves made at this place. This is their lives until their retirement. Fuck me, I love my job.

This job? Hmmm, we'll see.

"**Incoming call from Carlisle Cullen. Accept?"**

Do I really want to talk to Papa Cullen about Baby Cullen? I couldn't answer fast enough…

"Accept please Renee."

"You've reached Bella Swan at CGB, how may I help?" Sarcasm, is golden.

"How is he?" Papa C sounded irritated almost…anxious. Let's play this out.

"Who?" Feign indifference, Bella, let him take the bait.

"My son BB, Edward, I can't get hold of him."

"Oh…right." I could imagine him pacing in his study at home, because he's obviously have me on loudspeaker so Esme could be close by if she wanted to hear.

"What BB, what did he do, wait hold up. Inventory check. How many limbs left?"

I knew Papa C knew his son could fuck up, but even I wasn't expect bad shit, as bad as the shit had been, on the first day. I must admit, I don't blame him, there had been moments today when I'd wanted to throw a telephone headset in his general direction, hoping to cause him immeasurable pain. Papa C was right to anticipate this.

"All limbs intact, I think, I mean, he's been out for a few minutes."

"He's unconscious?! Fuck, Bella, I swear, was he rude? Was he unforgivably inappropriate?"

"Rude, yes. Inappropriate, yes. Unconscious, no, although today, at times, it was sure as hell tempting."

"So he's still, intact." He sounded somewhat relieved.

"Baby Cullen's anatomy is all present." I let a grin spread over my face, fuck me if I wasn't proud of myself for _not_ having some part of him broken today. I bet those Polish doormen downstairs could do some damage…

"Baby Cullen? That's Edward's nickname."

"I'm torn at the moment between that, and Junior. Hold it, what month is his birthday"

"June. And he's just turned 25, so he's actually a little older than you."

"Hmmm, well thinking about it, I prefer Junior, it'll do well for what I have planned. So, fuck the age difference, we'll measure it in work experience."

Carlisle was clearly much more assured that I wasn't going to dismember his son and laughed lightly.

"Quickly, before we move on, where is Edward?"

"You want the quick story; because I know I'll get carried away if I have to tell you everything."

"Give me the lowdown."

"Junior's gone to Nero's to get us some drinks, since shit here is still not finished. Earlier today I heard him fucking a whore from HR in his office. He was M.I.A at the directors meeting today as well."

Now this shit was gonna hit Papa C like a ton of bricks or he'd get angry, real angry.

Silence…

1…

2…

3…

"Isabella, I'm really, really, _really _fucking sorry." His voice came out strangled and truly, upset.

Motherfucking ton of bricks it was then…

Maybe I shouldn't have told him everything, you know, fuck, why did I have to say the wrong thing.

"Listen, Carli-…"

"Bella, sweetie, Carlisle, needs to take a few moments, he, well, _we_ didn't expect Edward to still be like this. We thought he may have decided to… rethink his lifestyle a bit, seeing as you're coming on board."

Now there weren't a lot of things that made me, Bella Swan get emotional, but the moment I heard how desperate, and, fuck, disappointed Esme sounded, well, that shit right there is heartbreaking.

"It's ok Esme, shhh it's ok."

"I know you're only trying to help Bella honey, but, Edward never used to be like this. When you came over on Friday that was the first time I'd seen him in two months, I thought that when he came back from business school in Italy, we'd at least see him more. I don't know what's happened to my boy."

Fucking hell, this was one of the times I wished I had a fucking psychology degree or something. I could analyse Baby Cullen's every word and create some life plan for him to get back on track.

"I can only say I'm sorry, I'm not gonna lie to you Esme, I was extremely disappointed and ashamed of … your son, today, but I think I might be able to help."

"Oh Bella, really?"

Well, technically no.

"Ok, maybe what I have planned won't help, but it should make a difference. And that's what you guys want right? You want your hard working, dedicated boy back."

"Bella, if you think you can make a difference to Edward, and I don't doubt for one second that you can, then I don't care what you do. It's not even as if he's really _happy_ like this, what he's doing, doesn't bring him happiness, not really."

Yeah but I bet his dick is pretty fucking content.

"I won't give you all the details just yet, but, basically, I want to put all that money you spent on sending your little one on training and time in business school to good use, if he gets his butt in gear that it, and then maybe he has a chance."

"Talking about my ass on the phone Miss Swan, really?" I could hear the smirk in his voice, why he thought I could appreciate his derriere, being _blind_ and all.

I held up my hand in a silent gesture and cursed inwardly for not paying more attention to what was going on outside of my phone conversation. How the hell did he sneak in so quietly? Stealth like Cullen.

"Speaking of which, I have Mr Cullen here with me right now, maybe it would be best to continue our conversation later in the week."

I really, _really _didn't want Baby Cullen knowing I'd been speaking to both his parents about him. I could imagine that he'd be even more hostile and difficult to deal with. The last thing he'd want to know would be that I'd spoken to his father about what had happened, and now that, evidently, Papa C was extremely disappointed. As strained as their relationship might be, knowing that you'd disappointed one of your parents, especially seeing as Baby Cullen was trying to take over Carlisle's job, that shit could do crazy things to a person.

"Ok, Bella, which reminds, _we_ still need to have _our_ girly chat. And you can update me on Edward when you guys come over for dinner." Well at least she sounded much fucking happier now, but I knew I wouldn't look forward to _that_ dinner date, or especially _that_ conversation.

"Clear it with Renee, and I'll talk to you later in the week."

"Sure sweetie, bye now, don't be in bed too late." Yeah, like I'll be _able_ to sleep tonight, after today, and worrying about planning next week. Shit, I really do need to think about how I was going to get our boy here up to scratch, I had a rough idea, but I needed to at least act, like I knew what I was going to do. I'm not exactly a fucking nanny for Christ's sake.

"Sure thing, it was nice…catching up."

"Renee terminate call."

"**Call terminated, system standby."**

I could tell he was sat down and waiting for me to acknowledge him.

_Maybe if we sit really still, he'll go away._

My subconscious was becoming delusional, but fucking hopeful. I tried to figure out what drink he'd got me, as I could feel the warmth of it sitting on my desk, it was certainly coffee, but not sure what type it was.

"Who the hell was that?"

"Mr Cullen, who I speak to in the privacy of my own office, is my business."

The fucker started laughing and something told me I'd want to hit him.

"So, who I fuck, in the privacy of my own office is _my_ business then, right?"

Yeah, I was right, Baby Cullen, hasn't changed, he just needed time for his ego to refuel.

"Sir, it appears that you deem my telephone conversations to be far more…exotic than they evidently are, to put them on par with your coital interactions."

"Miss Swan, I'd, _fuck_, I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me Sir."

Ohhhh-kayyy then. That was weird. He didn't seem too bothered that every other word that comes out of my mouth is a cursing one, but he doesn't want to be called "sir". What-the-fuck-ever.

"Absolutely. Where were we?"

"Do you have a PA?"

What?!

"Nope, never have done, why?"

"So, who's Renee?"

Was I ready to get all friendly with Baby Cullen and tell him all about my fuckery? Fuck no! Keep it to the minimal; he really doesn't need to know. We don't have that kind of trust, that kind of relationship.

"Renee's my EPA, electronic personal assistant, because of course, I can't go writing in a fucking appointment book or anything, so I vocally enter all the things I need to do and places I need to be. She's like a sophisticated alarm clock. It's amazing how much I rely on her. But she's a great help, there's no way I could do my job without her, just like Sheila."

"Sheila…?"

"Yeah, my…dog."

Now, you think that even for a blind bitch like me, it would be fucking impossible to miss the presence of a great big fucking German Shepherd, but in the past few hours, I had managed just that. Where the fuck was my head today?

Stay calm, where could she be? Had someone taken her, who in the hell would be able to take my dog.

"FUCK!"

"Miss Swan, are you ok, what's going on? What dog?"

I slammed my hands down on the desk and evidently this was where my hot drink was placed and I felt steaming liquid pour all down the front of my shirt. And I can tell you, that shit _burns_.

"Oh shit, fuck, bollocks, motherfucking life!!" I wrung my hands through my hair and started pulling at the roots. First fucking day here and fuckery had been coming at me from all angles. Shitting hell.

Calm Bella, calm, you need to find Sheila.

"Mr Cullen, this shit is going to sound fucking crazy, but have you seen a big German Shepherd, just casually walking around, anywhere?"

"Like today, shit, you don't get dogs inside the building, but there was a Native American looking guy, hanging around outside with a dog. I don't know what breed the dog was though."

What are the fucking chances? Jacob Black.

"Mr Cullen, was the dog at least big?" Please, please, _please,_ let it be my girl.

"Yeah, huge thing, kind of freaked me out a bit, didn't pay it much attention to be honest."

Fuck, it has to be her.

I was on auto-pilot as I couldn't even contemplate the idea of losing her; I had no idea what the fuck I'd do. I couldn't think straight.

"Renee, call Jacob Black."

"**Dialling Jacob Black…call connected." **

"Thank you Renee. Jacob?" I realised I probably sounded fucking panicked and like a crazy woman. Who am I kidding?

"Miss Swan, is everything ok?"

"Jacob, do you have Sheila? Do you know where she is? Have you taken her? Have you seen her?"

"Calm down Miss Swan, I thought you knew Sheila was with me? Didn't Mr Cullen call you?"

I covered my hand to the receiver of my phone and directed my speech at Baby Cullen.

"Did you get Jacob to take my dog away?"

"Who the fuck is Jacob? Please, I didn't even know you _had_ a fucking dog." Fair play, he clearly has no idea.

Oh…Jacob meant Mr Cullen as in Mr _Carlisle_ Cullen. I guess Papa C thought that because I'd already be having a rough afternoon, that he'd have Sheila taken out of the office. He must have done it while I was out listening to Baby Cullen fuck that whore. Shit I'm getting unobservant, this is _not_ like me.

I reverted my attention back to Jacob who I had almost forgotten was still on the other line.

"Jacob? You there?"

"Yes, Miss Swan, would you like me to keep a hold of Sheila until you're done?"

"Thank you, but I'd really rather see her, would you mind coming up to the office, we're on the fourteenth floor, walk right out of the lift along the end of the hallway and my office door will be open."

"That's fine Miss Swan, we'll just be a moment."

Thank God. I'm sure I visibly relaxed, but I soon remembered the probably monstrous stain across my shirt. At least its not water, we can't have the girls giving the boss I show. I felt no better than the whores down in the dealing room at JIG. Let's just say they aren't known for their _verbal_ negotiation skills.

"Umm, Miss Swan, your, uh, your shirt is, well, it's, it's stained."

"No shit Sherlock." Ooops.

"Excuse me?" Crap, even if he is a fucker, I can't talk to my boss like that.

"I'm sorry Mr Cullen, but to save my embarrassment, I was wondering whether I could borrow your jacket? If that's ok, I mean."

Silence…

"Mr Cullen?"

"Oh yeah, sure here." I heard him get up and move behind me. His large hands moved my arms into the sleeves of his large, but very comfortable jacket. I could smell his cologne and I could have sworn it was Tom Ford. I had a bit of a thing for like male perfume, or some shit, but it greatly affected me opinion of the person who wore something worth smelling.

"Tom Ford?"

"Hmmm?"

"Your cologne, it's Tom Ford right?"

"Oh…yeah." Bingo, you still got it. Damn he smelled so good, I wonder what he smelled like _without_ the cologne, like a natural scent.

_For God's sake Bella, mind out of the gutter, he's your fucking boss. _

I felt something jolt through me a he touched my shoulders, guiding the jacket around me. I presumed it must be still a shock from the burn on my skin, which was probably pretty red at this point. I pulled the jacket around my small frame and clasped the buttons together around the front.

"You know, you should probably get some cream, on your, uh, your chest. You don't want it to be um…sore."

"Well unless, and I very much doubt it, CGB hires masseurs, then it'll just have to I dunno, simmer, I guess."

"There's a first aid kit in every office, it should be in your top draw. There's some cooling cream in there, I think, I dunno, Carlisle has a thing for safety at work, so there's probably everything in there. I could, help you, put some on, if you want."

Fuck off can you rub your man whore hands over my chest; I don't know where he's been. Even if you do smell inexplicably good and have large manly hands.

_ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!_

Jesus I've got issues, I've _never_ reacted to _any_ guy like that before. This is very, _very_ strange.

"Mr Cullen I think that would be ever so slightly inappropriate, but I appreciate your concern."

"Miss Swan? Is this a bad time?" said the voice of Jacob Black. If that was my driver, then my dog was here, I had my baby back. I bet I looked a right state with my boss's jacket on and wild woman hair. First, or even second impressions were clearly not my forte. This must be remedied, as in a job where I have to unfortunately fucking spend all my time around people, it was important that I didn't look like a fucking joke.

Sheila quickly scampered over to me and I felt her large paws on my knees and her big head coming up and nearly knocking me out of my chair. Not that I gave a fuck, my favourite girl could do whatever the hell she wanted.

"No Jacob, she's fine, thank you so much for bringing her up here. I would've just about gone crazy."

Apparently she found her way to Edward, as I heard him talking in a small voice to my girl. Show off. She's a fucking traitor; we don't lick and wag our tails at the man whore boss. My dog needs to reset her standards.

I _really_ wanted to go home, and melt into my big fluffy pillows. I swear I'd never been more of a girl than right now. If only Charlie could hear my inner whine, he wouldn't believe his fucking ears.

"I'll be right back downstairs to take you home when you're done Miss Swan."

Fuck it, I _really, really_ want to go home.

"Actually, Mr Cullen, I don't know about you, but it's been, quite a day, we've got a lot to do, and you'll thank me later this week, if tonight you at least manage to get a good night sleep, can we continue in the morning?"

"Yes, absolutely, great, umm, what time?" He sounded startled as if I'd just disrupted a thought process. He'd have to get used to the _complicated art_ of multi-tasking. I was gonna give him hell this week.

"Get your driver to pick you up for five thirty, we have a lot of work to do, and I mean a hell of a lot."

"Umm…ok." I swear he just gulped.

"Well, good evening then Mr Cullen, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

-----

Jesus what a day. When I finally collapsed onto my pillows at God only knows what time, I knew that this was just the beginning, and that there would be _much_ harder days to come as I thought about my hopeless CEO and his cocky attitude and nice hands. Damn you Edward Cullen.

**Thank you so much for reading, I hope everyone likes the chapter, I thought maybe I went a bit detailed, and the pace of the chapter may not have been great, but this is all background stuff. **

**Some reviews? **** They make me so happy, like jump for joy and skip around my house happy. It's almost as good as Tom Ford and large man hands, **_**almost. **_

**Update = definitely next week, if not sooner.**


	5. Junior

**So I promised it'd be a week and technically it still has. Thank you as always for the reviews, some of you are really thoughtful and I really do think about what you've said and try and incorporate suggestions into the story. I just want you guys happy.**

**I don't know whether I'll be doing an EPOV on this yet, I don't think so, but it may be too early to tell.**

**I don't know what people's views are on having a disclaimer at the head of every chapter, but twilight character names belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and other c****haracters belong to me, Aurora, so no plagiarism ok?**

_Last time…_

"_Get your driver to pick you up for five thirty, we have a lot of work to do, and I mean a hell of a lot."_

"_Umm…ok." I swear he just gulped. _

"_Well, good evening then Mr Cullen, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."_

_-----_

_Jesus what a day. When I finally collapsed onto my pillows at God only knows what time, I knew that this was just the beginning, and that there would be much harder days to come as I thought about my hopeless CEO and his cocky attitude and nice hands. __Damn you Edward Cullen. _

**Chapter 5 - Junior**

You'd think that after the shit day I'd had I'd be able to at least fucking sleep.

Hell no. My insomnia shit had come back and brought some friends along, to add some spice to my anti-social life, and they stayed the _whole_ night.

So sitting at my desk this morning, having not had one ounce of sleep, even my double espresso didn't quite perk me up enough. My entire body felt heavy and this was gonna be hard today, this teaching my CEO how to do his job shit. I mean, I must have really fucked up in a past life, like murdered some _really _good people or some shit.

After the accident with my parents eight years ago, I had some …trouble adjusting to life as it is now, I had a few anger issues, so they suggested, as well as getting Sheila, which by the way is the best fucking thing that ever happened to me, but that I also start yoga.

Turns out that _yoga_, i.e. making my once inflexible body contort into ridiculous positions, and _hold_ said positions for lengths of time, does magic for my temper and _yen_ or whatever.

Feeling no time like the present to be more appropriate to stretch I moved deftly around the side of my desk to the large space I knew to be between the door to my office and the desk. Setting my feet in place, I straightened my torso and bent forward at the waist, my arms straight out in front of me, legs straight in a forward bend to set my hands on the floor next to my feet.

The burn up the back of my legs that told me I had clearly _not_ been practicing this as often as I should woke me up immediately. It felt so good to actually _feel_ some sensation from my body after a night lacking in sleep. I took in deep calming breaths and repeated the soothing motion, each time drawing my head closer to my knees and my hands to my ankles.

I stretched my arms above my head on my way back up for the last time and braced my hands against my coccyx to bend my back around the other way, feeling the sensations in my spine. So good, _so damn go-._

"Getting up at five this morning, so totally worth it, do you do this every morning?"

Apparently I couldn't even remember the time I'd told my CEO to get in this morning, _the same time as me. _

Oh shit.

"How-, how long have you been standing there?"

Note to self – open door policy was a _bad_ move.

"A while." The harsh ignorant and pleading tones of yesterday had vanished and their replacement was soft yet masculine and _beautiful _sounding.

Oh please, since when do you describe a man's voice as beautiful?

_Since Mr Cullen was born…_

My voice of reason that used to be my subconscious has gone on holiday, it seems, indefinitely, and in her place is a harlot.

"I apologise sir, uh, Mr Cullen, I didn't expect you in so early."

"Oh, no, definitely, don't apologise for that, and you told me to be here, I said I would. I'm a man of my word Miss Swan."

_Mmmm, say my name again?_

Jesus! I may have to be assessed for split personality disorder, Isabella Swan does not _moan_ for a man in her thoughts, she doesn't do anything with a man in her thoughts, this is irrational, stupid, reckless, stupid and unprofessional and-

"Miss Swan? At least I know I'm not the only one cursing the time this morning, I can see your eyes drooping behind those RayBans."

It's not because of lack of sleep Junior; I'm having an internal moral battle.

I tried to laugh it off, but it probably came out more spluttered than genuine. Right, great.

"Are you ok?" He sounded concerned.

"Fine, great, just, y'know, eager to start the day!" Ok I may have said that a little _too_ enthusiastically.

"Alright, so, where do we start?"

Not putting up a fight Junior, not at all…?

"So that's it, you're not going to argue or anything? You'll let me lead this, do what I say." I hope my agape mouth successfully conveyed my disbelief and shock.

"Yes, I said I needed help, and if you're willing to help me, then, to be honest, I don't _want_ to fuck this up, and I _know_ I can do it, I just need _instruction._"

Wow…

"So you're not just giving in because Papa Cullen called you last night and metaphorically hauled you over the coals?"

"He told you about that? Fuck, the guy can't keep anything to himself." Junior sounded exasperated, not good.

Good guess Bella…

"No, but I've worked closely with your Dad for a while and there's no way that after talking to him yesterday, that he _wouldn't_ have spoken to you. It's ok, he's just looking out for you, but I appreciate you saying this. Thank you." And truthfully it did, I'd witnessed cocky bastard Cullen yesterday and today, he was kind of making me believe that that wasn't a permanent condition, just the way he thought he had to be.

I reached out my hand to his arm which meant to be a reassuring gesture, but then thought better of it. I don't want him thinking this is me flirting with him or anything; I don't want him to see me as one of _those_ girls, I just wanted to let him know, that, on some level, I understood.

"Your welcome, but I _do_ mean it." I had subconsciously moved closer and I could practically feel the warmth of his body against me. What the _fuck _is this?

_If you stepped closer, you could be bathed in Tom Ford cologne and man hands, strong, big man hands._

"Emails! I need to talk to you about your emails." God if I didn't cleanse my head soon, bad things were going to slip out.

"No offense Miss Swan, because I know you think I'm an idiot, but I'm pretty clear on how emails work."

I snorted because I was really tired, not because I _actually_ thought Junior/Baby Cullen was an idiot.

"Despite your recent demonstrations, Mr Cullen, I'm quite positive that you're good with the workings of an email inbox." I let myself smile a little, he has no idea.

"And I don't think you're an idiot." I mumbled.

"Well…good."

Awkward…

"So, before we do this, have you seen Sheila?"

"Yeah, actually Angela text me this morning to say she was coming in at the same time as me, I told her that wasn't necessary but she insisted, so I said she could take Sheila for a run or something, because we had stuff to sort out. That's ok, right?"

I clung my hands to my head in an attempt to quell my frustration.

"You know you can't just _do_ that right?"

"Do what?"

"Take my dog away! She's not a pet Junior, she's like my lifeline, I can't fucking _function_ or get around without her. I thought you understood this from yesterday. I know you may take this for granted or some shit, but I can't see, so I need her to be my eyes. I'm dependent, like totally, ok, so you can't just let her walk off with someone."

I could feel the heat rush to my cheeks with emotion, and I could bet that any minute, the water works were gonna make a fucking appearance. I couldn't have that, so I tried unsuccessfully, to barge past him and out of my office

I didn't even know where the fuck I thought I could go, I was just mad and upset which was exaggerated by how tired I was. I must have tripped over a bin or something because I soon felt myself falling, probably face first into the floor.

But the hard surface of the floor never hit me, and I wouldn't have a gigantic bruise on my face because the man hands me and my subconscious had been respectively lusting after for a day caught me around my waist and held me above the floor.

"It's ok, I've got you. I'm sorry, I'm _really_ sorry."

Those man hands pulled me up off the floor and righted me on my own two feet. His hands held on to the tops of my arms and in that moment I wasn't mad and I wasn't tired, I was just _feeling_, and even though I didn't know what any of it meant, why I was feeling anything, this, I decided, was ok.

"Look, Be-Miss Swan, I know now I shouldn't have done that, and I _am_ sorry, I just didn't think."

"No, you didn't." I mumbled.

"Can we just start again, like forget yesterday and today _ever_ happened. Miss Swan, my name is Edward Cullen, I'm the CEO here at CGB and I look forward to working together."

Well slap my thigh and call me Sally, I can't just fucking forget, but I may be less inclined to _remember_ after _that_.

I stuck my hand out in a greeting gesture.

"A pleasure to meet you Mr Cullen, my name is Isabella Swan and I'm your new SNP."

His hand grasped mine firmly, and it mat have seemed unfriendly, except for the softness of his skin and the aroma I was assaulted with, which I was granted access to, standing so close.

"Yeah it is a pleasure." At least that was what I thought he said, he seemed to be mumbling almost incoherently. What does that mean?

"Mr Cullen, I'd like to run through with you the list of obligations you have to comply with as CEO and duties you are required to fulfil. I'd like to start by running through your email priorities, you'll probably receive around eight to nine hundred a day, and you need to know which ones will require your immediate attention."

"An excellent idea Miss Swan, would you care to continue this in my office."

"Absolutely sir, I mean - Mr Cullen, lead the way." His hand gripped my arm as I was led out of my office and along what I presumed to be the hall and into a very warm space. I immediately removed my jacket to reveal my same as always, white shirt and black cashmere jumper over black trousers combo.

"Jeez you've got some _serious_ heating in here Junior."

"Junior?" I could tell that he was trying not to laugh, and smiling behind his words.

"Yeah, it's your new name, until you blow me away with your newly found mad CEO skills."

_That's_ what you have to say…he gets CEO skills, but _you_ need _social_ skills.

I couldn't agree with my subconscious more, pathetic Bella, honestly.

"Alright, do I get to give you a nick name? Or even, actually call you by your name?"

I laughed; this shit doesn't fly in _that_ direction.

"Only in your head Junior, unless you want a phone in your face."

The good thing was that the silence between us indicated that he _knew_ I was serious.

"Right, so the emails. Which by the way, are not Angela's job to even go near, at least until you've done an initial filter."

"Hold up, initial filter? What the fuck is that?"

_Curse again Junior, in that voice. Mmmm._

The morning continued into the afternoon much like that, me explaining, him asking questions, and then my internal harlot moaning from her back seat in my mind _every_ time Junior said _anything. _Talk about monotonous.

Thankfully Sheila was returned to me about ten o'clock and she, like said inner harlot still clearly had a thing for Mr Cullen. Now it's official, they are both traitors, in my eyes anyway. I talked with Junior about the air fresheners that I needed to place in his office, for Sheila's sake, and so I had a hope in hell of not having to call for him _every_ time I needed to go somewhere. He argued that a lemon air freshener would be inappropriate, I disagreed. And since I had veto power on, well, pretty much everything, unless he wanted a nice little heart to heart with Papa Cullen again, that was the way things were going to go.

"Do you need Renee installed in here as well?" I liked that he didn't really question for motives for the name, the last thing I needed was for him to be a nosy bastard, and then, for me to get semi-emotional twice, _in one day._

"Um, no, just in the main conference, because I presume I'll only need to be in just the one, and my office. But one of your diamonds over in IT is looking after that for me."

"Ben Cheney?"

"Yeah, I mean, I guess there can't be more than one IT consultant in one place that can actually communicate, you'd get a Nobel fucking prize for that shit."

"He's certainly a keeper."

"Yeah…So, again, tell me the rules." I'd made him repeat them several times over the morning and thought he might just turn around and tell me to fuck off. Hell, _I'd_ probably tell _me_ to fuck off.

Now that shit was rare.

"No… social visits in my office-" I giggled at his hesitance.

"Fucking, no fucking in the office, it's ok to say it Junior, we're not thirteen anymore."

"Alright, well, no _fucking_ in the office, always arrive by six am, if not earlier. Emails cannot be deferred to Angela unless they have passed through me first, always attend board meetings, even if I don't want to. One of us must always be present on this floor while we're at work, so I have to let you know if I have a client for lunch. Ask for your advice if I'm unsure about something and any progress on projects must be recorded in the chart, which I will constantly monitor."

"And?"

"Um, your words not mine, 'don't be afraid to call you out if you're fucking wrong about something.'"

"Not bad, at least your memory's in ok shape."

I bet the fucker had a triumphant smile on his face or some shit, but me, I needed sustenance, I'd survived six hours without a coffee since my double this morning, and for me that's _unhealthy_.

"Take a break Junior, could you go downstairs and grab me a drink, preferably the same as yesterday, so I can see if you fucked up or not, and hopefully I won't spill it down my shirt."

"Anything to eat?"

"No thanks Junior I'll be fine, but can you tell me Aro's extension number?"

"Sure, ring through to Angela for the group landline, and its 7895."

"Ok, thanks."

It took me a moment to realise that I was still in _his_ office and had just practically ordered him to get coffee. And he _didn't _question it. Oh well…I'm not gonna flag down an obedient CEO, if such a thing actually fucking exists.

"Hi Angela, can you put me through to Aro Volturi, line 7895."

"To Mr Volturi?"

She sounded slightly shaken at the sound of Aro's name, I mean I knew he was kind of intimidating, but I hoped it wasn't anything else.

"Yes please." I waited patiently for the line to pick up and breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the cool tones that I remembered from my apprenticeship years of Aro.

"Yes Edward?"

"Hello Aro, I don't know if you remember me, but it's Miss Swan, Isabella, I worked here a few years ago with Carlisle, and Esme, of course."

"_Isabella?_ Remember you? Well of course, how I could possibly forget? It is almost monthly I hear of you triumphs all over London, and that particular success at JIG with the Eagle FX project, how pleased I am to hear from you again."

I could imagine him sitting forward in his chair, hands clasped together in excitement, because that was just him.

Sometimes it took people a while to get used to Aro, his way of talking especially. He was very…charismatic, courteous, but also deadly persuasive, which meant he was always going to be the ideal candidate for Head of Global Acquisitions.

But, even when I was a lowly intern, he always respected me and never passed me over like so many of the other employees did. He thought I had _potential. _I couldn't dislike him for that, but there was definitely something…odd, at least that was the vibe I'd picked up from Papa Cullen.

"Likewise Aro."

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure, and in Edward's office nonetheless, please don't tell me…no, you're much too good for that."

Oh…so Edward's fuckery _isn't _limited to his office, he's actually managed to make a bigger embarrassment of himself than I'd originally thought. And Aro thought I'd become one of his whores? This will not do, I try to _not_ work for fuckers, and more importantly, I have a professional reputation to uphold.

Speaking of whores, I need a meeting with HR to sort out Tanya Denali.

"I assure you Aro; I have _no_ idea what you are talking about. I've just started working here recently, actually _yesterday_ as the new SNP."

I tried to talk placidly to him, the last thing I wanted was for him to be suspicious of anything, not that there _was _anything to be suspicious _of_.

"Really, how _fascinating._ How long are you staying for?"

Constantly fishing for information…

"Well you must know, I'm only here on a contractor basis, not permanent, but it's around an eighteen to twenty four month contract."

"That's quite a commitment, and it's not a problem for you?"

"Not really, I'm very _committed _to the Cullens and the opportunity I've been given to work here. Mr Cullen is very dedicated to his job and I don't predict, with his work ethic, any major complications in the next project."

"That's very optimistic of you Isabella, considering Edward's _reputation."_

_Play ignorant Bella, he's after what you know._

I laughed lightly, as if to make a joke of some fairly serious accusations on his part, "The only reputation I know, to associate with any of the Cullens, is excellence. I wouldn't think you to be one to sink so low as to partake in fickle office gossip."

"My, my Isabella, you've blossomed! And I haven't even seen you yet, speaking of which, I would love to talk to you about your ideas about CGB's next acquisition, are you free for lunch this week?"

Don't you just hate the things that technically, you're not _allowed _to say no to?

"Absolutely, it's early days yet, so my schedule isn't too tight."

"How does Thursday sound? Just let Angela, Mr Cullen's PA know you're coming in to the office and I'll leave Sheila with her."

"Oh yes, I remember your little mutt, how precious. Excellent, it's so good to hear from you Isabella, you'll be a credit to the project."

I'm _leading_ the fucking project; I don't _care_ if I'm a fucking credit to it. And "little mutt"? Since when did a full grown German shepherd get called _little_? My girl could tear him apart, easy. I leant down to where she was resting patiently at my feet and patted her soft head.

Exhausted I lay my head on the cool surface of the desk and thought about my big white fluffy pillows at home that I would not hesitate to jump on right now and not come up for air, in a sleepy way obviously. So comfortable…

Coffee? Why do I smell coffee? Mmmm coffee…

"Miss Swan, is everything alright? I brought the coffee. "

My head whipped up at that, it was always the second double espresso of the day that got my body working properly.

"So what did you decide on Mr Cullen?"

"For you, espresso ristretto, but using the Columbian bean mix instead of the ones from Peru, double filtered." He seemed nervous.

But fuck me! Junior got it _right_? I was careful to contain my surprise and pride before I congratulated him, this shit was big, because to be honest no-one ever got it _that_ right.

"I need to talk to Carlisle Junior?" He would be so proud.

"What, right now?"

"Hell yes right now, can you call him for me?"

"Alright, but, just so you know, this is _weird_."

"Cullen, you've only worked with me for two days, a year from now, _weird_ will be redefined."

"Edward, is everything ok? You're calling from the office." The soft Washington tones of Papa Cullen wafted down the phone.

"Better than ok, I've got some news."

"Hello, BB, what's going on, where's Edward."

"He should be on cloud fucking nine, he got it right."

"What, what did he get right? A crisis meeting? Has he laid out an agenda for the pre-project shit? What?" He wouldn't believe it, fuck, even I hardly believed it. I took a sip from the cup in front of me and sure as _hell_ it was exactly the right drink. I could have kissed Junior's head if it wouldn't have been completely fucking inappropriate.

"None of that, Carlisle, he got _it_ right. The holy fucking grail."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone and I knew that because I used his real name, he was taking me seriously on this.

"Really?" He relied after a while.

"Yeah, to the "T"."

"Well I'll be damned."

"Maybe so, but after that, your boy definitely _won't_ be."

"Well done BB, and after two days."

"Oh no, this is all Junior, I can't take credit." I felt like I was accepting a fucking Oscars or some shit.

"You call him Junior? Not Baby Cullen?"

"No, I feel Junior is more fitting, at least for the moment."

"Can you guys stop talking about me like I'm not in the same fucking room!?"

_And there goes that foul mouth…_

Not half as bad as mine though, THAT'S a relief.

Shit, I _had _kind of forgotten Junior was still here. That shit, people talking about you like you weren't there, that was never nice. He didn't deserve that, especially not after today's triumph.

"He's right Papa C, I just wanted to let you know, just don't tell Esme, she thinks I'm cutting back."

"Sure thing BB, you know I'm gonna tell her anyway, I owe you, the amount of times you got me in trouble, this is payback."

"Hmph."

"Later BB."

I took another sip of my fucking _delicious _coffee as I finished my call with Carlisle, I swear I couldn't help the small moan that escaped my lips, sometimes you couldn't get a barista to get it quite right, that's why it pissed me off when Carlos, my favourite barista EVER, wasn't in.

"So now that we've celebrated me, what did I buy?"

"Huh?"

"What did I get to drink Miss Swan, for myself?"

Now this was either going to be really obscure, or _very _fucking obvious. I tried to sniff the air, yeah I know it would be like cheating, but all I could smell was _my_ coffee. Mmmm…

"A clue? Do I get a clue?"

"Um, let me think, should I-, no, you don't get a clue."

Shit… I was counting on that fucker.

Right, think Bella, it's just past midday, I didn't think he'd go for an espresso, not at this time of day, I didn't think he had the balls for that.

"Caramelatte with a shot of vanilla, hold the whipped cream... Am I right?"

Silence…

He only laughed. Junior, we do not laugh when discussing coffee, this is important.

"Wrong."

"How wrong?"

"I'd say pretty wrong, completely wrong line."

I braced my hands against the front of his desk and leaned forward in his leather swivel chair.

"You really want to know?" His voice took on a low, seductive tone and I heard him lean forward too.

"Yes." I replied for both the inner harlot and myself

"Right here? Right now?"

_Stop teasing…_

"Yes!" I may have been a little breathless at this point, still leaning forwards.

"White Americano." And I swear I could taste that goddamn drink on my mouth from how close we were.

Pull. Yourself. Together.

I think I may have got a head rush from trying to sit back up so quickly.

"Right, well that's umm-good to know, for, um-future." Coherency would be really good right about now.

What the hell just happened? I cannot, I mean I _cannot_ lose my focus right about now, this is not good. This can't happen. I mean, surely this isn't _healthy_, right? Being so sidetracked, so easily, wouldn't be good for work. I needed to fix this, because it was _not _ok.

"So do I get to call you Bella now?"

"Nope." I popped the p.

"What is it with you and first names? Is it really that important?"

"Yes, it is. You're my superior Mr Cullen, my boss, so it makes me feel uncomfortable to call you by your first name, when I haven't had the chance to prove to you that you can trust me, and show you what I can do here. And I request that you show me, the same courtesy, it's just how I work. I know in some way I'm here to be a mentor, of sorts, but I am your employee. So yes, it is important."

"Wow."

"Yeah so that's why." I don't know why I felt nervous at this point, maybe because I knew that Junior was actually _listening, _and not just hearing my words.

"Sorry, it's just kind of stunning hearing something like that, from someone in your position of authority, you're not cold and heartless like the rest of them, and you clearly work because you enjoy your job."

"Thank you, but remember Junior, I may be all that, but when I need to be, I can be an authentic bitch and make your life hell ok."

Knock knock…

"Edddiieee…" There was a sickly sweet voice coming from the other side of the door and I heard a groan come from Junior and sensed that the next few moments was either going to be awkward, or weird. I heard him get up and go to the door.

"Tanya, I'm actually a little busy right now."

"Well I can think of some _other _ways to keep you _very busy. _Oh, who's this?" Her voice turned into a sneer and I could tell that she'd wedged her way through the door and could see _me_ sitting in Mr Cullen's chair. Thinking about it, I hope I wasn't going to catch anything sitting here, God knows what he's been up to.

"Umm, Tanya this is Miss Swan my new SNP, Miss Swan, this is Tanya Denali, and she works in HR."

"Nice to meet you Tanya." I don't think I've ever told a more _unconvincing_ lie.

"Hmph, you must think a lot of yourself to wear sunglasses _indoors_, and can't you find a kennel for your _dog, _it's really kind of trampy to bring it into the office, and think of all the hair that's going to get on Eddie's floor. Eww, that's _disgusting_."

I didn't have to be able to see to know that she was probably a tall blonde bimbo, plastic boobs which would be spilling out of a low cut top, fake nails and a short skirt. And she would call _me _trampy."

"You know, _Tanya_, you're right, what right do _I_ have to wear sunglasses inside, even if I am blind, and bring my _guide dog_ to work with me. How thoughtless of me? But I assure you, the state of _Mr Cullen's _office, is no concern of yours. And what are you doing here anyway; surely HR related problems can be dealt with _downstairs?_"

Sheila clearly sensed my anger at the hoe bag and started growling. Atta girl. I was at this point contemplating whether to leave Sheila to maul this bitch in my office, or Mr Cullen's.

"That's none of _your _business." She spat. "And who the hell do you think _you_ are? You think you can just come in here and tell me what to do? Just because you might be blind, doesn't mean you can talk to me like that."

"Actually, _you _walked in. And there's no _might_, I am blind."

"Whatever, you're still rude."

"And you're a whoring judgemental bitch who _needs to leave."_

"Eddie!" I seriously can't believe he lets her call him that. I'd have stabbed her by now, in fact, I'm feeling no time like the present.

"Get out Tanya." He said through gritted teeth.

"_Eddie!" _In my books, a whining bitch, was a _dead_ bitch.

I was already planning the conversation I was going to be having with Angela to get _Miss Denali, _transferred to the New York office. They can have her, because there is _no way_ she is staying.

Junior had obviously moved his domestic outside and I couldn't quite hear the words but I heard harsh tones and _more_ shrill whining.

Ok, I'm not a feminist, but some women, namely her, are _pathetic. _

Once I'd called the PA angel, who wholeheartedly agreed to my plan because apparently she too hated Tanya. She's probably had to put up with all kinds of rudeness from her, well not any more. The paperwork would be finished by tomorrow morning, since I'd placed it on a high priority and she'd be out by the end of the week. Thank God.

Big smiles.

"Miss Swan, I am so, _so, _sorry about that. She won't be coming up here, ever again."

"Thanks, and it's ok, I'm having her transferred, despite today's incident, that attitude and clear lack of work ethic, is not good for the company, I'm putting it under the Board's recommendation."

Silence…

"Mr Cullen, there's not a problem with that, is there?"

He laughed a sigh of relief. "No, it's just, I keep forgetting how fucking efficient you are, you see a problem and it's either resolved or eliminated. I like that, it's…thorough."

"Yep, that's me."

"So how did the conversation with Aro go?"

"Hmmm?"

"Earlier, you asked for his extension number? Everything ok?"

He sounded hesitant and guarded but of course I had no _idea _what that was about.

"Yes, we're meeting for lunch on Thursday."

"What?! Just the two of you?"

"Yes, Mr Cullen is there a problem?"

"You are _not _going alone. Excuse me."

What the hell? He just walked right out of his office and I was left way more confused than I was fucking comfortable with.

**Thank you for reading.**

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	6. Lunch

**Guys!! 22 reviews **** Every single one of them made me so happy, I really loved reading them and hearing your thoughts. Some of you may not like this, some of you might, but I did say that 20+ reviews earn you an update, so here we are:**

**Disclaimer – Twilight belongs to SM, this plot and characters, mine, ok?**

_Last time…_

"_Yes, we're meeting for lunch on Thursday."_

"_What?! Just the two of you?"_

"_Yes, Mr Cullen is there a problem?"_

"_You are not going alone. Excuse me."_

_What the hell? He just walked right out of his office and I was left way more confused than I was fucking comfortable with._

**Chapter 6 – Lunch**

"Any wine for you Miss?"

"No thank you." I set my mouth into a grim line. Why the fuck did I even agree to this in the first place. Sitting here right now, I had no fucking idea.

The last two days had been a test of my self control. I was _this_ close to setting my girl loose like Jaws on my CEO, who had been acting like an incompetent arse ever since I announced I was going to lunch _alone _with Aro Volturi. He fully understood that the purpose of said lunch was to discuss the finite details and implications of this acquisition project. The one thing that would have been oh so helpful was if said CEO was actually focused on this and not solely focused on the fact that he thought I wouldn't be able to handle a meeting alone with Aro, that I didn't know what he was capable of.

I knew someone like Aro would try and catch me out on small details, so in order to ensure that I gained the respect and trust that I deserved, I read up on every detail and statement surrounding the Quileute Corporate Group, which CGB was going to be bidding to take over. There was no motherfucking way that I was going to let some small little details get in the way of me and this project being a smooth success.

So far, even though it was still early days, the one thing I was becoming concerned about was Mr Cullen, despite the ridiculous effect his presence seemed to have on me when I let my guard down, I was quickly starting to feel disappointed again with my boss. I really did think that the fucker had changed, turned a new leaf or some shit, but it seems that when even the slightest thing upsets him, he flies off the handle like a kid not getting their own way. This of course only increased the frequency of me calling him "Junior" instead of Mr Cullen.

After he had stormed out of his office on Tuesday, and once I had got over my confusion, Angela had told me that he was nowhere to be found, and once I'd phoned down to Demetri, who said that Mr Cullen had "left the building rather quickly", I was fucking angry. He may think that because he has the title of CEO that he can do whatever the fuck he wants. Not on my life Cullen, not on me. It was now clear to me that the man I'd seen in the first few days, who seemed repentant and determined to achieve better, was just a ruse, a fucking mask so that he'd be able to get away with shit and fly under the radar. Yesterday, Wednesday, he didn't get in until nine o'clock, which is no fucking good to me. It meant he was three and a half hours behind schedule and he was barely awake when he walked into his office.

I could practically smell the alcohol on him, and fuck, if that was left over from the night before, then he must have drunk a _hell_ of a lot. I told him he was disgusting which I hoped would spark some fire and quick wit but he practically shut me out of his office where he stayed for the remainder of the day, occasionally taking calls, until five o'clock, when he decided he'd fucking done enough. Arsehole. I knew I'd already explained to him that _this position, _this job, that he was so very lucky to have. We worked shitty hours, yes, but we also did a fucking amazing job.

This nine-to-five bollocks does no fly.

And this morning, he'd got in at another unreasonable time; so of course, I had nothing the fuck to say to him that didn't involve copious amounts of curse words and telephone throwing. Obviously I worked on until lunch today as per usual; I then set my computer to an "out of office" status before my business lunch. Because I had access to Mr Cullen's daily schedule, I was able to confirm with Angela that he had a client meeting regarding the project at lunch, something I knew that even if wouldn't miss. Client meetings in general are the worst fucking things in the world to organise because they think that the world revolves around them, making it ok for them to pretty much pick when and where they want to see you.

"No wine Isabella, I must say I'm surprised, or perhaps you prefer something stronger. It's near the end of the week, new job; you must be feeling the strain."

You have no fucking idea.

"I have enough passion and raw determination in me to get me through anything my work week throws at me. I've never been much of a drinker."

_Yeah, apart from the almost illegal amounts of coffee you consume each week._

Well there is _that. _

"How interesting, I can't say I'm as disciplined as you there Isabella, I've always been partial to Italian wines, especially those produced in the area of Montepulciano, you know Tuscany, simply mouth watering. Have you ever been to Italy Miss Swan?"

Almost as shitty and unnecessary as small talk, and we haven't even ordered food. Great…

I shook my head, "No, unfortunately I can't say that I have, I feel like much of the world is a stranger to me, there's just so much." I tried to keep it light, and not come across as though I really didn't care what he was saying, or what fucking wine he was drinking, and that I just wanted to talk about the project.

"Of course, of course, it's such a shame that you couldn't have, well, experienced more before the accident, you must be under such restraints, especially with my job."

"Fortunately, Aro, I don't need vision to be able to _see and understand_ everything that goes on around me. And I don't think you could find any of my colleagues anywhere, at any company, who would ever say that they thought be lack of ability to see, ever disadvantaged me in my job, which I am very good at."

Don not for one minute think that I won't hesitate to throw my glass of water at you if you bring up the "sight issue" again, it's pathetic, laughably so.

"Absolutely Isabella, I wasn't suggesting anything against that. So tell me, how have you found things this week?"

At this point, I am tempted to nickname him Snoopy, because that is exactly what he's doing, I don't see it as dangerous, just a kind of small obstacles, and I hate things getting in my way.

I sit back in my chair, and thank my lucky stars that at least it's quiet in here and I don't have to overhear other people's conversations, it totally puts me off, an that this chair has a very surprisingly straight back to it. Oddly comforting.

"Great, I mean it's fantastic to be back here, because for me, this is where it all started, but, I mean everyone has been so friendly and welcoming, but it's, as you can imagine, quite exhausting, I'm sure you understand, the first week is always filled with paperwork and - "

"Keeping the boss in line? I know Edward's reputation with women is somewhat, well, exotic, to say the least." I stared incredulously at him and I could hear the smirk on his face as he spoke.

This is weird, I mean, there's having inkling about something, and then there's down right knowing. And I really didn't appreciate him almost implying, that I should be wary of Mr Cullen, you know just in case he jumps me in my own office.

_Now _that _would make getting up in the morning a little less painful, semi-or unclothed Junior…Mmmmm…_

Clearly my I internal harlot didn't receive the memo that we weren't happy at all with Junior, not one bit.

"What do you mean?" Fucking hell, feign ignorance, feign ignorance.

"Isabella, you're a smart, and in this field, very experienced young woman, I think we both know that Edward here doesn't really know what he's doing." He spoke as if he were talking about a kid at school who was holding all the other children up because they were slow. With Junior, despite being a fucking dickwad, that wasn't the case.

"I'll agree with you on the former, but on the latter, I completely disagree."

Half a truth, he's fucking useless, technically he knows what to do, but he doesn't know the process. Also adding to the fact is that he lied about wanting to progress and then reverted back to arsehole status number 1.

"Oh really? How so?"

"Mr Volturi, with all due respect, this is the second time, in my presence alone, that you've expressed concern over the capabilities of Mr Cullen, that he has been assessed as capable of doing, by none other than his father, the very man who tutored you here. So by showing disrespect to your boss, you're also discrediting the value of Carlisle's judgement, which I would say to be a very unwise thing to do."

"So you _don't_ think that there is _any _reason to be concerned about Mr Cullen's behaviour and unpredictable nature?"

Lie Bella, you need to lie.

"I'll repeat my earlier sentiment that I shared with you on Tuesday, excellence and hard work is the only kind of professional behaviour I have ever witnessed from _any _of the Cullens, I do not suspect Carlisle's son to be any different, evidence of which I have already witnessed this week."

This was so far from the truth, that if I wasn't in a business meeting, I would have found this shit funny as hell.

"Very well Isabella, from everything I have heard, I can think of no reason not to trust your judgement, which evidently has not led you far astray from your goals in the past. But one thing that has us concerned -"

What?

"I'm sorry, us?"

"My brothers, who are, by the way, _very _keen to meet you, we have discussed this at length, and even when the first mentioning's of Carlisle's retirement were announced, we had our doubts that young Mr Cullen, at such a young age, would be able to follow in the footsteps of his father."

"Sorry, correct me if I'm wrong, but Carlisle was twenty-three when he first worked here, a year younger than Mr Cullen."

"With all due respect, Carlisle had his own father as a mentor and advisor, Edward has -"

"Me, as SNP, part of that is my job, to provide my colleagues and superiors with advice and any help they may need concerning the project, or another professional matter. The role that Carlisle's father provided for him, I can do for Mr Cullen."

"So you are here to tutor Edward?"

I slammed my hands down onto the table, firmly enough to let him know I was serious, but then maybe a little too loudly because the few voices that were surrounding the restaurant, had just disappeared.

"I adamantly refuse to continue any further conversation concerning your opinions on Mr Cullen; any direct issues should be taken with the man himself. I was under the impression that I was here to discuss project details and not indulge in idle gossip." I spat the words out fiercely, the rest of the office may be comfortable discussing other people' lives like that, but I was not one of them.

My opinion of this man had significantly altered since a few days ago, before I would have defended him in light of his reputation if others were to put his professionalism into question, but now, I'd throw him to the fucking lions, very _hungry_ lions.

He cleared his throat; it must be time to order,

I hadn't had time to eat any breakfast this morning, so my stomach grumbled very loudly when I thought about what they wanted to eat.

"What can I get you to eat sir?"

"I'll have the fillet mignon, medium rare please." Cheese, I definitely wanted cheese.

"Excellent choice, and you Miss, what would you like."

"Isabella do you need me to tell you what's there, do you need it in Braille?"

I waved my hand at him; hopefully he would understand the gesture to be dismissive.

"A Braille menu will be about just as useful as one with bigger print, I never learnt to read it and I never fucking will." I turned my head to the side of the table where I expected the waiter to be; hopefully he'd be able to get me something nice. "I haven't read the menu and quite frankly I don't plan to, do you think you'd maybe be able to get me a cheddar cheese omelette with a little dark soy sauce, please?"

Clearly they didn't have fussy SNP eaters very often as he seemed to stutter for a few moments and then turn to Aro to get his order.

"I'll have the spinach and ricotta cannelloni please."

"Very good sir, your orders should be with you soon."

"So where were we my dear in our conversation?"

"I think I was telling you how fucking inappropriate it was that you speak about our employer in such a derogatory way and seem to be partaking in idle gossip at every given opportunity. And then I'm sure after you had expressed your concerns, you were about to discuss the project with me, since that's the reason we're here, isn't it?"

"Quite, yes, Isabella, tell me, how many "take-overs" have you been involved in yourself?"

"Well of course I'm familiar with the process, both basic and extensive, other than my most recent at JIG which was more of integration really, I've had two other short term projects at various establishments which have as I'm sure you know, been very successful. If you have any reservations about me on this project then I'd prefer, unlike you've done with Mr Cullen, that you address _me_ with your concerns rather than the closest available listener."

"Absolutely Isabella and I apologise for the way I approached you about this. I just want you to understand that when it comes to these types of projects, I undoubtedly have more…experience here than you do, and after all, I will be _leading_ the acquisition team, I will defer to you to confirm decisions, but I hope you know, that unofficially, at the end of the day, my word on this is final."

"Yes, but I'll remind you that I am programme director for this project, therefore officially, _my_ word is final, and if I see any untoward behaviour or reckless decisions made, then I will not hesitate to use my authority, I hope you understand that I will not be intimidated, on any level, by _anyone._ Is that clear?"

"Crystal Isabella. Have you discussed our clients' details with Edward?"

"Mr Cullen has a lunch meeting today with our _potential_ clients, where he will hopefully proceed to outline the available options and finances, this should run fairly smoothly."

"And what exactly is the offer."

Here goes Snoopy again…

"Oh Aro, you don't think I'd really discuss something _that _confidential at dinner, do you? If you have any queries regarding the finances, then I suggest you send your enquiries to the guys in Finance." I didn't give a flying fuck that I sounded condescending as hell, the question he asked was beyond ridiculous, I'd barely discussed it with my boss, so why the fuck did he think I'd talk to him about it? Sometimes these bastards fucking astound me…

"I am curious though, changing the subject slightly, as to why there is so much investor interest in that Quileute group. What exactly are they offering?"

"Now that, I have no idea about, I've spoken to a couple of people on the floor and they seem to think that there are a lot of frozen assets, which once CGB take over, will become active assets which the group can utilize, but that still doesn't quite account for the volume that we've seen, it's really extraordinary."

"I think that maybe once my team in acquisitions are able to get a higher level of information about the group then we'll have more of a lead on what we're dealing with."

"Certainly but in the mean time, I need to get everyone, on the principal team, for a meeting tomorrow morning. I want to brief everyone on exactly what I expect from them, you know sort out the wheat from the chaff, also, I noticed he's not on the list, but there's an IT guy I want to bring on board."

"Isn't it a bit late to be hiring, when the project is due to launch in only ten days?" Time means nothing to me; I can pretty much make anything happen.

"Not really, he's already an employee, so technically I'm not bringing in anyone new, but I think he could be a really valuable asset to the project, from what I've heard anyway; we can always fast track his department transfer paperwork, it really shouldn't be a problem." I say.

He laughed lightly, "Yes, I've heard all about your "fast track" methods, only four days in and already attacking HR."

This was about Tanya-I'm-a-whore-and-don't-I-know-it-Denali. Well I wouldn't be sorry for that, it was the right decision.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, you'll have to clarify for me."

"Oh Isabella, I think you _do _know exactly who I'm talking about, I believe Tanya Denali is, well was considered quite a credit to her department. And you've not been here a week and she's being shipped off to start somewhere else. Now why would that be?"

"The precise details of Miss Denali's transfer to the New York office, where she will in effect, be continuing with her current job, are confidential. I and several others members of staff on my floor had found much to be desired with her attitude and lack of respect for others. It reflects extremely poorly on the company if the employees in _Human Resources _are more of a hindrance than a help. Does that satisfy your curiosity Aro?" I say exasperated.

"Far from it, but it was an adequate enough response."

Fucker…

"Sometimes the lies people choose to believe are far more compelling than the truth, which often falls short in expectations. I apologise for not creating enough drama for you."

"Oh Isabella, I think, over the next few months, you're going to give us _plenty_ of drama."

Yeah no shit.

"Not of the variety you are expecting, I'm sure."

"So, tell me, this young man you speak so highly of in IT, what's his name."

"Cheney, Ben Cheney. He actually worked at JIG at the same time s me for a couple of weeks, though unfortunately, then, I never had the pleasure of meeting him, I don't think I've ever meet a more personable IT technician."

"Well, now I feel all the more unprepared for not having met him."

"Well if you show up at the team meeting tomorrow morning, nine o'clock sharp, then you won't be missing out."

"Excellent, you'll also have the opportunity to meet my brothers; I assume you know of Marcus and Caius."

"How could I not?" I smiled in a plastic

I'd never had the pleasure of meeting _those two _although the things I'd heard so far had not given me an especially positive predisposition for our first meeting. The fact that Aro was Carlisle's favourite out of the Volturi brothers made me want to count blades of grass on a fucking football pitch instead of meeting two _more _fuckers.

Apparently Caius, who worked in the dealing room, had a very temperamental nature and flew off the handle at the smallest thing, so it was bets to be prepared for a perpetually scowling riled up man-kid, Marcus, to me sounded worse, he worked in legal and although people said he was unnaturally calm, which in this shitty line of work, is never that good, it's always best to have the tension running at a medium to high level. I knew I'd have to be careful around him, people that were calm and quiet, obviously didn't spend their time talking, were usually fuck-awesome listeners, in a freaky manipulative sort of way.

My internal insulting was soon after interrupted.

"Your cannelloni sir, and for you Miss, your…omelette. Would you like anything else, any side orders?"

"No thank, you" I just fucking prayed that they could make an omelette, well at least the plate was hot, if even that shit wasn't right, the place needed to be shut down, pronto.

-

It was quite good I guess, my omelette, but I'm certain that I could make a better one, which was especially surprising seeing as I'm blind and everything. I was lucky that Aro kept the conversation to a minimum while we were eating, thank God. I guess I didn't quite know what to say to him, I was quite happy to talk to him about the project, but the only thing he seemed to be really after was gossip. The spreading of office gossip had never been something that I was willing to partake in. If people wanted you to know shit about them, then they would fucking tell you, the idea of an invasion of privacy pissed me off to no end.

When I first lost my parents, and also my sight, privacy was something that it seemed, was automatically taken away from me. People seemed to think that because of all this, I would never want to be left alone, I told them they were fucking wrong, but did they fucking listen? Oh hell no. I felt like I'd lost most elements of control in my life because not only did I now depend on a dog but all these other people, who I didn't know, would traipse me around when all I ever fucking really wanted was to be left the fuck alone and be allowed to wallow. People never thought it was good to wallow for any reasonable amount of time, at the time, I felt I fucking needed it.

"**Incoming call from Angela Weber, accept?"**

Not fucking now! I'd been very specific today with Angela that I _not _be interrupted during this. I knew Mr Cullen might at some point ask Angela where I was, and I'd specifically told her not to tell him where I'd be, the last thing I fucking wanted was for him to show up here, and make a fucking scene.

"What was that?" Apparently Snoopy here was out of the loop on something, _quelle surprise! _I guess it would be fucking weird if someone's blackberry actually started _talking._

"It's my EPA, electronic personal assistant, instead of having a person, I have everything on my blackberry, it helps, you know, with the being blind thing."

"Oh, right."

"Accept call Renee." I was met with the frantic breathing of the PA Angel, Angela, and I hoped for Junior's sake, that he has _not_ been unnecessarily stressing her out. Fucking moron if he has.

"Miss Swan, um- Bella, oh God I am _so, so sorry _to be calling you but you said only in an emergency,"

"Is it my dog? Sheila, is she ok?" I'd left my girl with Angela because even though she was a guide dog, restaurants were horrible to have to sit through for her, she was a big girl and she'd barely have any room. I'd had Jacob escort me into the restaurant and he was coming to pick me up later.

"No, it's something else, something bad, Sheila's ok, but Bella, oh shit because-I mean- you said- and now, I really think, qualifies as that, you know an emergency." Poor thing was hardly making any sense, and was very clearly stressed out and worried, and something in my gut told me that Junior was behind all the fuss, there'll be pain, fuck that, after this week, _there will be blood. _

"What's the problem Angela, slow down a sec, whatever it is, it's ok; I'm sure you did the right thing."

"Mr Cullen stormed out of his three o'clock meeting with the Quileute group representative when he asked me where you were, he said he wanted you to be present for something. I told him you were unavailable, and he's been demanding for the last fifteen minutes to know where you are. I haven't let him in your office, I'm sorry I don't know what to do, I think he left, I rung down to D-Dem-Demetri and he said he'd gone somewhere." Poor thing sounded on the verge of tears.

Fuck. I knew. I just _knew_ there would be a fuck up today, and that it wouldn't be my fault. Junior had really stooped low to try and intimidate his PA, which sounded like it had fucking worked because she was the one who had sounded fucking _scared _on the phone. Why he had to make such a big deal out of this I did _not _know. I mean, I would understand, if the man I was meeting was a serial rapist, then there'd be some cause for fucking concern, but Aro wasn't. He was an employee at CGB and also a long standing colleague of Papa Cullen.

He must have thought that he'd managed to work his way into my good graces in the first two days and didn't want to tarnish that, by having me talk to someone who clearly stuck his nose in constantly where it wasn't wanted. Fucking prick.

He obviously didn't think I could handle myself; well Junior had another thing coming. I've handled larger bastards with much bigger egos before, and they soon started singing the Swan theme tune, I'd have him humming in no time. I would not let someone like him ruin my practically flawless track record and reputation. I'd worked through some tough shit and had run my own butt into the ground with how hard I had worked; one man wasn't going to ruin this. No sir.

And now I'd have to handle the mess he'd made.

"Ok, ok, you did the right thing, you hear me, and you did just fine, just breathe. Where is the rep now?"

She sniffed, "I told them to wait a few minutes because I was sure Mr Cullen would come back, but they seemed really annoyed so I tried to arrange another meeting but they wouldn't, I felt so embarrassed."

"Don't worry, I would too, hell I do. Do you have any idea where Mr Cullen is _now_?" _Please don't say he's coming here, please not here. _

"I don't know, but he was pacing about the hall, muttering something about calling Jacob, getting Jacob Black. I don't know what that means, but I presume he needs him for something. I'm sorry."

H.o.l.y.J.e.s.u.s.

_He's coming. __He's called Jacob to take him to where he dropped me off._

"Don't worry Angela, I know where he is, it's fine, and don't apologise, you did exactly the right thing calling me. I think you should go home, today's probably felt fucking horrible for you, just come back tomorrow and if I need anything I'll let you know."

"Thank you Bella, but what about Mr Cullen?"

"All _he _needs in the next twelve hours is a verbal bollocking, which I will be very glad to provide him with. You head on home now Angela, try and enjoy the rest of your afternoon."

"Bye Bella."

"Disconnect call Renee, thank you."

I breathed a sigh of exhaustion, I didn't think I had the energy to deal with this right now, I felt the omelette in my stomach and felt a little ill. This is not what I need right now. Breathe, Bella, breathe, this was just another thing that needed sorting the fuck out. The fuck up with the client could fuck up the timing for everything, if they weren't satisfied with the deal they were getting then it would through much of my planning and initial ideas out the field.

_Why is so much fuckery going on?_

I rationalized that I may have killed or tortured people in a past life, and now I was getting my fucking comeuppance. Actually that sounded a lot like me now…

Speaking of now, I'd _completely forgotten_ that Aro had actually heard the whole thing, and was _still here. _

Shit, twat, fuck.

"Mr Volturi I, that was unprofessional, it was an urgent call and I felt that it couldn't wait, I apologise."

"No worries, I completely understand." Yeah I bet you do, nice little bit of info to file away for later to question me about. Perfect, fucking great.

"Oh, sorry, and while you were taking your call, a note arrived from the maitre d', at the front of house, shall I read it?"

"Yeah well I'm not fucking going to, so sure, go ahead."

"There is a Mr Cullen, waiting for Miss Isabella Swan at the reception to the restaurant. The gentleman is requesting permission to come over."

He'll be requesting permission for me to stop scratching his eyes out soon.

I smiled as cordially as possible and spoke as calmly as I could "Well, I think that's my cue to leave then. Today was a pleasure Aro and I look forward to discussing the project with you and your brothers at the meeting tomorrow. Please excuse me, have the bill sent over to Angela on expenses."

"Of course, a pleasure Miss Swan." I held up my hand for the waiter, and he came over quickly and escorted me to the front of the restaurant. I really hoped I was given a minute to cool down a little before Junior appeared.

Apparently not…

"I told you not to meet with Aro, and I know you've had some kind of problem with me this week, but I never thought you'd just ignore what I said and _go!_" He was seething.

He grabbed a hold of my arm hard and dragged me, I presume to a quieter corner of the reception and turned me round to face him. Right there is where I lost it.

"Listen, you take you hand off me _right now_, what the _fuck are you doing?!" _I pronounced each syllable slowly and clearly to show just how fucking angry I was. He still hadn't let go of my arm.

"The right thing Bella, you don't know _anything_ about this." With my free hand I slapped him hard, _real hard _across the face and _that_ made him let go. He flinched back and hit some kind of wall.

"I'm so-sorry; I didn't mean to touch you, I – Bella, sweetheart, I didn't mean it." He tried to cradle my very sore wrist but I pulled away.

"Leave me the _fuck _alone, you think I'm not competent, I get that, but you have _no fucking right _to _ever_ treat me like this. Ever!"

The only thing I wanted to do right now was run, run away and cry. The first time in eight years I'd be shedding a tear and it was because of Edward fucking Cullen.

**Please don't hate me...please?**

**25+ reviews and you get a chapter before Wednesday, maybe. **

**I feel this had to happen; it gives you several clues to Edward and bit of Aro+Bella show down. **

**Leave me love… **

**Aurora**


	7. Prove It

**I can't even begin to describe how much of a bitch the last few weeks have been,**** (broken ribs from rugby, smashed laptop, family fuckery etc…) which makes it **_**so**_** hard to write, I'm sorry **

**Anyway e****nough of my crap…**

_**Disclaimer – All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc… are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. **__**No copyright infringement is intended. **_

_Last time…_

"_I'm so-sorry; I didn't mean to touch you, I – Bella, sweetheart, I didn't mean it." He tried to cradle my very sore wrist but I pulled away._

"_Leave me the fuck alone, you think I'm not competent, I get that, but you have no fucking right to ever treat me like this. Ever!"_

_The only thing I wanted to do right now was run, run away and cry. The first time in eight years I'd be shedding a tear and it was because of Edward fucking Cullen. _

**Chapter 7 – Prove it**

"_Isabella please pick up, please, look I'm sorry, just listen to me, I need to explain. Call me back."_

"_Did you even listen to the other messages? I need to talk to you, he's not who you think he is, why won't you let me explain?"_

"_It was for the best, I only wanted to protect you, please, tell me what to do, tell me what you want, I screwed up, badly, I know."_

"_Isabella, it's Edward, um-Mr Cullen, can you call me, I'm so sorry I hurt you and I'm at home, but call my blackberry, please."_

Last night I came home to a dozen voicemail messages on my home phone, just like that, all fairly apologetic and regretful, and not to mention desperate. I'd bet my left breast that man is bi-polar. I hadn't spoken one word to him since we left the restaurant reception and I had Jacob take me home and drop Sheila off later. I didn't feel like doing anything, apart from putting my wrist and forearm in some ice. The thing about being a social recluse, is that you don't really touch people, so when you get hurt, it feels all the worse. Because let me tell you, I bruise really easily, and even though I couldn't see it, because it hurt LIKE FUCK, I knew there'd be bruises where his hands had been.

When I listened to my answer machine I just heard the sounds but couldn't recognise any of the words. I felt kind of empty, like a void. People didn't really call me outside of the office, fuck, when I was at JIG I tried to be icy enough so that people wouldn't talk to me when I _was_ at work. But at that moment, unusually, I didn't know what to do; nothing anyone had ever said to me had _affected _me like this, fuck. Edward fucking Cullen made me cry, I'd shed more tears in the last twelve hours, than in eight fucking years.

I was officially going crazy. Like Freddie Mercury vocal range crazy.

_Or like Renee crazy?_ Renee whose grave I hadn't been to see in far too long, maybe I'd take Charlie to see her soon, he'd like that, get him out of that place, staying there _all the time, _I wouldn't be surprised if he was crazier than me.

The day I learn to organise my thoughts, is the day I'll retire, or kick the bucket, whatever comes sooner.

Good one Swan, while you're so obviously happy at the moment, let's think about your dead mother, your father who's in a care home and planning your death.

Oh and not to mention, your boss, the state of him is pretty fucking depressing too.

I finally came to my senses and called him, I thought over the words in my head and they sounded…appropriate, but not what I actually wanted to say. Never what I actually wanted to say.

Just say it - say it, tell him and then hang up.

"Mr Cullen, I appreciate your concern but I need you to leave me alone, and do your job."

"Bella wait-talk to me -" My voice sounded dead to me and I barely recognised it. I meant to put the phone down _as soon _as I had said my bit, but for some reason I needed to hear his voice, and when he spoke, so help me God I almost cried because I could hear the, _look at me I'm doing all better now 'Edward',_ and it pained me because not only did he have the most soothing and honest to God sexy voice when he was being nice, or _trying to be_, but it reminded me of the Edward I _thought _I had unveiled_. _

I guess it was betrayal I was feeling, I really thought that for those, 48 hours, or whatever it was, that this man had seen the error of his ways, but now he just saw me as an obstacle.

_Really Bella? You hardly know him, what could you have achieved in two days?_

I felt like I'd already set myself up for failure because I couldn't reign in one little rich boy who happened to be my boss. Carlisle had called _me_ because he thought I could handle this job, that I could handle _Edward, _he believed in me and so far I'd let him down. From here on out, that changed, I don't know where the Bella Swan who fucking pulverized anyone before they got close was, but she was making a fucking come back. I knew tomorrow would be better. It had to be.

-

Friday morning – the time is 8.45am and I couldn't be fucking happier to be at work. I'd made a decision this morning when I woke up at three from a fitful sleep. I was going to work harder than ever. I was _not _going to let the earlier events of this week deter me, and I was going to do what I had come here to do, and do what had been asked of me, what was _needed _of me. It would be an insult to Carlisle and Esme, but especially Carlisle; I couldn't fail them after all they had done for me.

I checked with Ben that he was ok to attend this morning's team meeting, because I still hadn't approached Edward about it, but I was hoping, truly hoping, that after Ben had highlighted some of his ideas to the team that he had spoken to me about this morning, that everyone would then be on board. I'd had replies from my whole team and it seemed that even at seven o'clock this morning, they were very quick to confirm their presence and availability for nine o'clock sharp.

At least there's some fucking efficiency, that's always nice. Rare, but nice nonetheless.

Sheila and I walked over to the conference room smoothly, because this morning we'd practised and I thought lemon was a good scent for such a room. Fresh, distinct, but not too…alluring? She clearly agreed as I felt her tail wagging happily against my side. I'd love to come back as a dog, more specifically a German Shepherd, because let's be honest, you _never _fucking mess with them, unless you want to lose a limb, so they don't have to worry about anything. Maybe I should incorporate growling into the brief meetings, now that _would _be controversial.

My key card worked perfectly but I felt slightly unprepared, because this meeting was kind of, shall we say, last minute, I hadn't had a chance to prepare a slide show or any supporting documentation. All I had were my ideas and the Quileute group paperwork, which to be fucking honest, especially because it wasn't all that lengthy, everyone should be familiar with anyway.

Throwing my crap on the desk and hoping like hell it didn't land on the floor, I let Sheila off and stretched out the kinks in my neck and felt my shoulders protest. You know that weird feeling when you've stretched out so much it all feels like jelly? Yeah well it was fucking heaven right now, after my lack of sleep. What I needed though was a massage, yeah, some nice strong hands to rub through the knots in my shoulders and back.

Strong hands…Tom Ford…cinnamon scented CEO…hmmmm…

"Good morning Miss Swan." The velvet voice spoke.

I swear to motherfucking God I jumped out of my fucking skin and even Sheila swung her body round which meant that my klutz worthy self had no choice but to fall theatrically to the floor. Thank fuck I wasn't holding coffee. That shit would fuck up my day, and my white shirt.

_Who the fuck knew he was in the room? _

_Duh, he's allowed, it's _his_ company. _

Silly, silly Swan.

I couldn't help but laugh, and I'm not talking about a little polite chuckle or some shit, I mean really giggle, if I'd have eaten breakfast, I'd be dreading the indigestion.

So much for fucking sorting yourself out this morning Swan. You've beaten this man in the chest, spilled coffee down your shirt in front of him, exposed your butt to him during yoga the other morning and almost tripped over onto him. No wonder he thinks you're inadequate, at this rate I wouldn't disagree with him.

Seriously, the hilarity of what I'd become around Baby Cullen was fucking funny, but then I remembered the being mad at him part.

I tried to regain my dignity, unsuccessfully, clambering up and using the desk for support but of course, I hadn't heard the quick footsteps approach, so when two big strong arms wrapped themselves around me and lifted me to the ground, I was taken back a little breathless. I don't think I'd ever been so close to a man who wasn't my father or Papa C and I melted and revelled in the proximity of his chest to me. He smelled woody and cinnamon and _sinful._

It took a couple of minutes to realise, once my head was no longer clouded, that he was still holding me, torturously close, but worse was that I was still breathing him in. I removed my arms and stepped away from him, gripping onto the back of the desk. I took a deep breath and replied to him:

"It certainly looks to be doesn't it?" I replied a little breathlessly.

"Hmmm? What's that?"

"A good morning."

He chuckled and I loved hearing that sound, it made him sound so carefree and I could pretend for a second that I wasn't still angry with him about yesterday and the implications of his actions. But the truth was that despite his mouth watering smell I was _still fucking angry._

Professionalism Bella, you know, if it's not too much trouble.

"Indeed."

"I'm really glad you had no objections to us bringing in Ben, I think he'll be great, sometimes it's good to have someone who has the potential but who- "

"Did you ever even listen to _any _of the messages I left Bella?" He sounded frustrated; he clearly thought this was an opportunity to get "closure". What does he think I am? A fucking psychiatrist? Yeah sure, whatever.

"I received all of your voicemails Mr Cullen." I replied in my best monotone voice that I'd previously reserved specially for James Jameson.

"And…?"

Yeah, he was expecting a session full of _feelings, _that's just great.

"And what happened yesterday, was obviously a grave misunderstanding on your part, and I accept your apology, and if you really, _really _feel the need to discuss this further, then we can arrange a time next week. I have a feeling today's not going to be any good, sir."

"I think today would be a fine time to discuss it, you never did let me explain, that's not fair Isabella."

"Mr Cullen, do you think that because you _inflicted pain on me _that you now have the right to call me by my first name? I thought we discussed this." I probably sounded like I was talking to a child, but the thing was that he was…annoying, and maybe a little vapid.

"No, and I've apologised, profusely, for my _physical _actions yesterday, but I sincerely feel that not addressing each other as we would the rest of the team - well it puts a barrier on our working relationship." He sounded confidant, and sure of himself, but I couldn't decide at the moment whether that was bad or not.

_A strain on our__ working relationship? That doubled when you grabbed me._

"Are you being serious? If you want to discuss things that are ok to call each other, _sweetheart _is _not_ on the list, by the way, in case you thought I missed that."

Silence… Yeah, he was probably hoping I _hadn't_ heard that, hell, _I_ wished I hadn't, it was just plain weird, and it's not really a good employer-employee phrase.

And let's not forget the weird…

"You don't get it do you?" It sounded as if he was shaking his head in exasperation, but I couldn't be sure.

"Excuse me?" If Junior wants to play mind games, then a Friday morning, is really _not _the right time to start.

"Don't - just forget I said it ok. Stupid, _stupid_." In all fairness, I don't think I was _supposed _to hear that last part, but whatever.

"Sure, so are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" God give me strength this man is hard work.

"The presentation, it's due in a couple of minutes, in fact people should be arriving very soon."

"Right, of course, yeah, presentation."

"Are you with me Edward?" Ok this sounds completely strange, but I loved saying his name, I take back my original sentiments. _Edward. _

Let's just say it ticked boxes for my inner harlot.

"What did you just say?"

"You're right; it looks weird, if I treat you differently than everyone else like that and vice versa, feel free to call me Bella, its fine." Let's just get this over with.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah absolutely, you were right." I heard him step closer to me, so close that I could smell him. I almost had to cough because my throat was running dry and I thought I was panicking. It was the same feeling, it just wasn't bad.

"Ok, _Bella._" Now I could practically feel his breath on my face allowing me to be pleasantly assaulted with his scent, which had a lot on any Tom Ford I'd ever smelt. Oh god. The way he said my name made me never ever want to let anyone call me Bella again, they could have Miss Swan. The hairs on the back of my neck picked up and I shivered, which caused him to chuckle quietly. I didn't know why but my hand was gripping the desk so tightly it hurt, and I was holding my breath.

_What the fuck is happening to me?_

I never thought I'd say this, but I was _glad_ everyone was a couple of minutes late; it allowed me time to compose myself and flap away the inevitable red in my cheeks. Damn blush. As soon as everyone did eventually file in, I was the picture of professionalism. I sat at the head of my desk at the front of the conference room with Sheila by my side. I felt bad that I couldn't let her walk around or lie down in the corner, but I had to know where she was. Some people don't like dogs. I guess it's fair enough.

For the most part, they seemed a bright bunch, more PhD's between them than I had fingers but I just hoped they had some level of people skills. It makes my job just a little easier, because, more than a project manager, I'm a _people_ manager, so I'd rather talk to humans than computers. I hate computers. Apart from Renee, because I need her to live my everyday life, so I guess she's essential.

"Miss Swan, I thought our project start line wasn't due for another week, but the memo I got says next Wednesday."

"Yes that's correct."

"Care to explain the change." Cocky bastard who I'd unfortunately have to call Mike Newton, but from the last few minutes of this meeting and conversations with Angela, I personally feel that cocky bastard suits him much better.

"Being the programme director I, strictly speaking shouldn't have to explain anything, but never mind. The project start line was set before I was hired, my predecessor who is no longer with us, Mr Crawley, made arrangements for that date. Now with the preparations in place and assuming I can have everyone coordinated over the weekend and ok this with the HQ in New York then I don't see a problem with starting next Wednesday. Any further questions? Mike?"

A round of agreements went around the room and I was glad that at least none of them, at this time, were going to try and make life difficult for me. I still had to finalise paperwork for Tanya Denali's transfer which apparently she was barely contesting, since her new job would actually give her a higher salary. I laughed to myself about how immature someone that senior was; apparently we were promoting her second in command, Kate, to be the new head of HR who would hopefully prove to be more successful than Tanya.

Speaking of people I don't like, where was Aro today? He made it perfectly clear today that he would be in the meeting this morning, and to be honest, I thought he'd be there before me. Unless Edward had something to do with it, which I really hoped he hadn't, that'd just make things complicated, and I didn't want that, not when we hadn't even started. Things would get busy enough as it was.

I'd made a point to introduce Ben Cheney to everyone else at the beginning of the meeting, to break the ice, he still seemed nervous as hell, but I knew he'd blossom. I'd listened to his electronic CV more times than I could count and every time I couldn't help but think how underrated he clearly was in his job, a real diamond that boy. It's rare to find someone so capable who has been slung into doing something that is far below their own capabilities, it's usually the other way around.

Finally, after everyone had read through their necessary paperwork and firmly promised to contact me over the weekend if there were any problems I sighed in relief and anticipation of my next coffee. Excellent, I knew for a fact that there would be NO problems with what I'd drafted out in their 18-month contracts but you always get picky people wanting more money. If they do complain, they can talk to Human Remains, which is always fun.

As last footsteps disappeared out of the door I slumped back in my chair, which was surprisingly comfortable and stretched out like a cat.

Mmmmm…

"You know, for a dog owner, you act just like a cat."

Holy crap! He's _still here…_

"SHIT!" I could hear him laughing and found myself doing the same; my sense of awareness was truly terrible.

"You okay there Bella?" And there goes all coherent thought…

"Yeah, sorry, I just, didn't realise anyone else was here." I adjusted myself back in my seat and tapped my hand around for Sheila and started to stroke her head.

"My fault, I just wanted to tell you that I rearranged the meeting with the Quileute group for today, so I'll be out of the office, but if you need anything, just call the blackberry."

Baby Cullen has ….initiative. Well this _is_ new.

Pause…

"Well I should get going." He sounded in a rush and anxious to leave.

"Great, that's great news, so I guess I'll see you Monday, have a good weekend and - "

"Any problems, I know, call you, but what you really mean is 'please don't call me because I want to sleep this weekend and there aren't any problems so get on with it'".

Well I'll be damned, he almost sounds like he's got it.

"You read my mind." Literally.

"If only Bella, if only, see you later."

"Bye." And…back to the office.

"Come on Sheila." I placed the lavender under her nose and off we went.

-

Monday morning came around far too quickly for my liking. Usually I didn't exactly relish my weekends because I wanted to get back to work and make sure things were done, but today, I was just wishing I could start the whole thing over again.

Esme had called apologising for not calling during the week to have our "chat", inevitably about the lack of man in my life, which I was completely fine about. She, on the other hand was not. Apparently we'd have a talk about just that over dinner on Friday, which to me, didn't seem like the most enticing table conversation. Especially seeing as my relationship history was empty and I had no time whatsoever for anyone else other than Sheila and myself, including my work life. After telling her this, she seemed satisfied enough but didn't fail to remind me that she wouldn't forget between now and Friday. Great, just great.

I called the care home to check on Charlie and unfortunately, he wasn't too good this weekend, which just made me feel all the more guilty for not visiting sooner. I made a promise to myself that next weekend, the Saturday morning after I'd had dinner with the Cullen's, that I'd spend the day with my dad. God knows I hadn't done that in a while. I was such a coward sometimes, well when it came down to this stuff, a lot of the time. My dad needed me, his daughter, and I constantly struggled to find the time. Pathetic didn't even cover it.

That and a visit from Rosalie Hale was the extent of my weekend. Oh, and of course, my weekly trip to Holland Park. I could tell she was immediately disappointed on seeing my sweats and holey t-shirt, apparently, on the scale of salary that I was on, it was simply not acceptable to lounge around in, my own home I might add, those sort of clothes. I couldn't see her obviously, but I'd bet anything that Rosalie Hale never so much as stepped out of the front door without a full face of make-up and looking nothing short of impeccable.

Apparently she'd bought over a load of new work clothes which were, per my request, 'not going to make me look like a slut', and just to be sure, when my maid came in, I asked her what I looked like in my 'new look' as Rosalie called it, and I got nothing but positive, blush inducing comments. It took hours for her to catalogue all of my new things, and because she knew I probably couldn't coordinate to save my life, which admittedly I hadn't ever tried but I was sure wouldn't be a good experience, she set me out Monday to Friday outfits, and even something for dinner on Friday night, which I'd told her about. Over the course of the day I also happened to mention who my new boss was. Big, big mistake.

"Edward Cullen huh? You are so lucky, I'm so jealous. I saw him this morning on my way into the lift for your building, now that man can _work_ the runner look. Mmmm..."

On her way into the lift?

"You saw him this morning? Do you know him?"

"Oh no, I mean a friend of mine dated him once but that's whatever but I've just seen his photo a thousand times in society pages, same as everyone else. But this morning, he was coming out of the lift and I was going in. I said hi and he kind of did this weird eyebrow thing that guys do. Do you guys carpool?"

_What the fuck?_

"Why would we carpool? Shit, do you mean he lives here?"

"Uh, yeah I guess so, didn't you know? Jeez Bella, don't you guys ever talk, you know like non-banking English?"

"No, why would I talk to him outside of work?"

"Oh God Bella, seriously! Have you not noticed how _hot _he is? I mean I know you're blind but doesn't his voice make your girly bits go crazy?"

"Umm _no, _definitely _not_. Why would I ever think about my _boss_ in _that capacity?_" Were all women like this? I couldn't imagine my boss, I mean Edward like that, we work together, that's just strange, and not to mention, wrong, like, very wrong.

But you do Bella, don't lie.

"Well I think you should talk to him, and while you're at it, touch his hair, it's like 'freshly fucked' hair."

"What? No, Rosalie, what does that even mean? You can't describe hair like that, it's just weird. You can't just assume someone's had…sex, from the state of their hair."

"Oh yeah, like hell you can, seriously Bella, get with it, you're an attractive woman, you'd think from saying that that you don't date that often."

"Never."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't ever date, I've…never been out on a date."

Silence…

Yeah I tend to do that to people, great conversation ender.

And then she started laughing…which when you tell someone about the lack of love history, is not the greatest thing.

"Smooth Rosalie, smooth. You could be a motivational speaker."

"You're not joking are you?"

"No."

"Why? I mean I've said this already Bella, you're a nice person, and you're really pretty, didn't you date in high school?"

"Secondary school." I corrected.

"Alright Miss Brit, secondary school it is, but answer my question."

"It's the truth. I was always really shy at school, like hide in the corner of the school library kind of shy. When I lost my sight after my mum and step-dad died in the accident, I changed, like, a lot. But I've never dated; there's never been anyone for me, not like that." I ducked my head down, not in embarrassment, but in sadness at remembering what I like to think of as my 'past-life', because now I was so very different. I mean still obviously pathetic in the romance sense yeah, but I didn't care about being invisible anymore.

I felt Rosalie's hand on my shoulder giving me a kind of 'shit I feel sorry for you' pat, but it was better than her saying, 'talk to me because I give a fuck about everything that's happened in your fucking life'.

"Look you obviously don't wanna talk about this, right? And that's ok, but I'm gonna make sure you have fun with someone, ok?"

"Yeah, I can't wait." I said dryly.

We spent the rest of the day arguing, well more like discussing the speed at which she was allowed to unleash my 'maximum aesthetic potential on the world', seriously her words, not mine. I put my foot down and compromised that I'd wear the new shirts this week, but I'd stick with my safe black trousers but for some stupid reason I agreed to wear kitten heels, whatever they were. Sounded fucking cruel if you ask me.

So here I am sitting at my desk this morning, I've got to say I'm fucking surprised I managed to walk in these things, and without falling over, which is always a plus. I decided to forego yoga and just call for coffee instead since Jacob was sick this morning so one of his colleagues drove me in, and of course, they weren't to know I was a deranged caffeine addict. Luckily Angela, over the past couple of days had got into the habit of dropping me in a cup at about eight am when she arrived. I knew I couldn't wait two hours for that so I wandered with Sheila over to the conference room, because there was supposed to be some sort of machine in there. Not that I'd know how the fuck to work it or anything but I was just hoping to maybe press the 'coffee' button and my prayers would be answered.

"Morning Bella." It took me a couple of seconds for my insomnia-ridden-caffeine-deprived self to realise that the smooth silky velvet ethereal voice belonged to my boss. The voice that would supposedly, according to Rosalie, make my girly bits tingle. I stood there for a second and contemplated this.

Nope, Junior, not getting anything my end, must be losing it.

"Bella what are you talking about, was I supposed to send you something?" I tried unsuccessfully to cover up my surprised choke of air with a cough, but then it just went and turned into a coughing fit, which is, you know, always considered attractive.

Guess you said that one out loud Swan, good job.

Seriously, at this rate, I don't think security should let me enter the building unless I have an excessive amount of caffeine in my system, note to self: must talk to polish Demetri about arranging this.

"Sorry sir, I mean Edward I'm just tired, crazy tired, and also crazy." I think I half mumbled that last part.

"That's ok, listen, there's no-one in yet, and we're actually both in earlier than usual, so do you want to grab a coffee?"

"Yep, coffee, good, let's go. Can you close my office door; I left it open, thanks." I felt my eyes drooping but as soon as I told Sheila we were going to see Carlos, the chief barista at Nero's, she was off like a greyhound, a big scary fluffy greyhound.

"Wait, how does she know…? You know what, it's fine, I get it, let's go."

"Less of the talk, more of the walk Junior."

Nursing my second double espresso felt good at this point, real good. I swear I could actually feel parts of my body waking up and my brain starting to work again.

"So you live in my building?"

"Yes." Blunt, I like that.

"For how long?"

"I only moved in six months ago, Carlisle and …"

"Snap."

"What, snap, what do you mean?"

"Snap, Carlisle and Esme bought the place for you, me too, I mean I paid them back obviously because I didn't have a job at that point and I was living in a hole and Sheila and I both needed more space, because she's a dog, a big dog who needs a lot of space, surprising really, and your parents I guess they felt sorry for me." I don't even think I paused and as soon as I finished I had to take a gulp of air.

Wow, shut up Swan, seriously.

"Breathe Bella."

Being so awake now I could appreciate his quiet chuckle and the sound of what I imagined to be him shaking his head back and forth.

"Roger that." And I couldn't help but try and mimic the beautiful sound of his laughter.

"Can you believe it's only been a week?"

And one of the craziest of my life, that's for sure.

"Yes and no. But it's certainly been one to remember." I didn't mean the last part to come out sounding resentful but it was too late for that.

"I'm sorry."

"You said that already, but what are you sorry for this time?" I actually wanted to hear what he had to say, maybe it was the coffee, Carlos probably put something in it that made me tolerant to people.

"I'm sorry for not making my decision sooner." His voice was apologetic, which was a start.

Vague? I think so…And let me tell you, at Swan central, we hate vague, and we like the specifics.

"Your decision? You've got to let me in; I can't do my job with this barrier of communication."

"I just decided ok, maybe one day I'll tell you, but I know what I want, and it's this, this job, this life, I want it." He had so much conviction in his voice, much more so than before, I didn't want to believe him, but I had no choice, I _had _to trust him.

"Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove it to me that this is what you want, bring out those golden Cullen genes and show me what you got Junior, because I'm hoping it's more than what I've seen already."

"Alright, so long as you stop calling me Baby Cullen, for good."

"Fair enough but I'm keeping Junior, that's a deal breaker right there."

"Done."

"Ok deal, you ready to play hard ball Edward?" I couldn't help but say this in mock seriousness, but I really wanted to giggle.

"I'll bring my bat, _Bella."_

**It's good to be back after a while; update will be in a week.**

**Let me know what you think, I love love love, reading reviews. Oh so much.**

**And I try so hard to answer questions and queries. **

**I apologise for grammar. **

**Aurora**


	8. Family Time Part I

**Hello everyone, I didn't say last time but Happy Easter, kind of forgot about that sorry. I hope you all had a nice time and managed to take a break from RL and enjoy yourselves.**

**Where did all my fantastic reviewers go? I'm not really complaining, obviously I'm still very happy that some of you did, and thank you very much. This one will be split into two parts with Part II coming sometime next week, as long as I get lots of reviews, they make me so happy. Anyway, here we go:**

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all mine ok? Good. **_

_Last time…_

"_Ok deal, you ready to play hard ball Edward?" I couldn't help but say this in mock seriousness, but I really wanted to giggle._

"_I'll bring my bat, _Bella_."_

**Chapter 8 – Family Time Part 1**

"So how does it feel Bells?"

"How does what feel Jake?" I sat in the car happily sipping my latte, strangely surprised that I preferred it today to my usual poison.

"Oh come on, it's the end of your first proper week at CGB, and you're alive. That's something to be proud of."

"What's that supposed to mean, first proper week, I've been here for two already, are you saying that last week just didn't count? Because it doesn't really work like that, they kind of throw you in at the deep end and assume you can swim." Michael Phelps eat your heart out.

"Good thing you're a swimmer then eh Swan? I only say that because, the guy before you who I had to drive; Tyler-shove a stick up my ass-Crawley, was such an idiot."

"Jake most people that work in this area could be classified as idiots." I had to laugh at his semi-naivety.

"Yeah but this guy was such a tool, you know one day, there was ice on the roads so I took him a different route, made him like fifteen minutes late and he threatened to have me kicked out. That guy has no respect for road safety. Idiot."

"Are you done with the venting?"

"Yeah sorry Bells, you sleep well?"

"Better thanks."

It was surprising to me even now that I'd only known Jacob for two weeks, but he was someone you couldn't help but like. The one-ended morning conversations very soon turned into me actually being interested in what he had to say. I mean not because I was interested in him _like that_ but because he wasn't an ass and other than Rosalie, the only person I could talk to that didn't involve stuff at CGB.

He made it so easy to talk to him and Sheila and I both felt comfortable around him, I don't know what it was. To be honest, I was probably more in awe of the fact that he could get coherency out of me at this time of the morning without the caffeine quite having kicked in.

Yeah I know, I have a problem, I'm not in denial.

It felt good for a Friday morning. It was warm outside despite being late September and I didn't find myself reaching for my long wool coat as usual. I fanned my hands over my 'blazer and shirt combo' as Rosalie put it and realised I didn't mind the fabric being so close to my skin. Apparently it was from here on out unacceptable to purposely purchase clothes that are sizes too big. It was all part of the master plan to dress me better, again _not_ my idea.

I must have been in a daze, not so unusual for me, because Jacob had moved out of the drivers' seat and round to my passenger door, Sheila at his side, and was clicking fingers in front of my face trying to get my attention. The sound was mildly irritating.

"You know Jake, that doesn't have the same affect on someone's who's blind."

"Sure sure, but it got your attention didn't it. Can't be that bad."

"Whatever. So I'll see you this afternoon?" By now we were making our way to the lobby where I'd pass through security to Demetri in order to get to the lift. Sheila knew her way from there.

"Absolutely, I'll be here at four waiting to chauffeur you and Mr Cullen to Cullen Central for five thirty."

"My, my, we are serious today." I said in a mock serious voice. He sounded like Parker from Thunderbirds, but totally American instead. I guess that made me Lady Penelope. Who was I kidding? I was no way near that cool.

"Ok Bells get to work, go save London's money or whatever it is you do."

I couldn't help but laugh; he always made my job sound so much more glamorous than it was. Bless him. "I'm on it Jake, we couldn't have the city plundering into a recession because I'm delayed five minutes by my driver. See you this afternoon." I tried to say with a semi-serious face and voice but just failed miserably and ended up giggling instead as I said hello to Demetri and settled in the lift.

I must have still had a smile on my face as I came to my floor and stepped out of the lift.

"Happy Friday Bella! You look good this morning, happy I mean." Angela was perpetually bouncy, but especially this week, she was our little ray of sunshine.

"Enjoy it while it lasts." It was pessimistic of me to say so, but also very true.

"Oh Angela, are you still ok to take Sheila?"

"Of course Bella, I'll drop her back Sunday morning around eleven, that alright?"

"Absolutely, thank you so much, she's not any trouble."

"Bella, she's a sweetie, plus I already took care of her this week a couple of times so I _know _she's not any trouble."

"I know, and I really do trust you. How about next week we go out somewhere for dinner? My way of saying thanks. Oh and I'm paying you for looking after her."

"I have seen sufficient evidence over the past fortnight of the consequences of not agreeing with you, so I'm just gonna say yes."

"Good choice." I smiled widely back at her and made my way to my office. Friday at last.

This week had gone better than I expected, I think better than even Edward expected, and he had been scarily optimistic lately. Despite my own confidence in the efficiency of the project, I wanted to warn him about everything that could potentially go wrong.

So because I'd been having a good week, I couldn't work out what was wrong with me. Twice this week I'd actually forgotten what I was supposed to be talking about whilst sitting in Edwards' office with him, because I'd been daydreaming. I'd sit there, seriously considering everything he was saying and fully involved in my work, when I'd start to feel fluttering in my stomach and think about what Rosalie had said at the weekend, about touching his hair.

On Wednesday I'd been rushing to and from several conference calls when I'd bumped into Edward causing us both to fall over. I leaned over foolishly to try and gather my papers and we bumped heads. Not meaning to I stayed put and tried to put my hand out to regain my balance. Unfortunately, said hand landed at the nape of his neck on top of what felt like feathers, like the ones in my pillows and duvet. I wanted nothing more than to feel that silky material, all over my hands, which just so happened to be my boss' hair.

Why the fuck would I want to smell and touch his hair anyway? It's strange and weird and just not right. It's not normal to go around smelling the hair of the people you work with. Wednesday was a complete and utter accident but I think I may have noticed more than Edward, thank god. He shrugged it off and hurried back off to his original destination, after apologising for something that was probably my fault.

So now it was Friday and yes I was happy, but looking forward to the weekend when I could see Esme and Carlisle and regain some sense of composure. But more importantly to visit Charlie.

Shuffling the items around my desk listlessly with one hand and sipping coffee with the other, the guilt of how long I had left Charlie without a visit began to wash over me. He had no family other than me, he was all alone and I couldn't find enough time to go more than once a week. This time I hadn't seen him in a fortnight, I wondered if he'd be better, or worse.

More than the guilt though, I missed him, I needed my dad so much, even if he didn't technically need me. The things I missed the most were the hugs, Charlie was never much of a talker, not that I can remember anyway, so actions meant so much more than words. There's a lot to be said for human contact, because I think without it, you can go a little bit crazy. And not the intimate kind either, just a reminder that you're not alone, even if you don't have people, or family, it's nice to know that life still exists and moves on around you. A kind of comfort, like a security blanket.

Being in a reminiscent daze meant that I didn't hear the knock at my office door, which for some reason I'd closed, normally I left it open.

"**Permit entrance for Edward Cullen?" **He was the last person I wanted to see right now, the last person I needed, so why did I start to smile?

"Yes Renee, entrance granted, thank you." The door beeped and in walked my disruptive boss, taking slow tired steps to the leather chair the other side of my desk.

"Morning trooper. Feeling a little tired?" I was guessing that this week had been the busiest in terms of work that he'd ever had, so he was bound to be feeling tired. It was kind of funny though, like remembering my first week with Esme and Carlisle, I think I may have slept the whole weekend.

"You know, I wasn't really feeling the early mornings, late nights and work load this week, until today. I feel like shit, plus I have to have dinner with my parents tonight, and I really don't feel like it."

"_We _have to have dinner with your parents, and no matter how bad we may or may not feel and how much we feel we deserve a little break, we have to go."

"I didn't realise…" He'd perked up and sounded a little more energised.

"What?"

"That you were _actually coming _tonight; I thought my mom just said that as like an incentive or something. I mean I know you guys get on really well and all but – never mind, that's good, what time's the car?" He sounded like he was smiling, that was nice.

"Four o'clock, so make sure you are out of your office by 15.45. Who do you think I am, Angela? Sort your life out Junior." I shook my head laughing and remembered what I'd been meaning to ask him today.

"Yes ma'am."

"So did you have that meeting with Aro? You know, resolve your 'nasties'".

"Yes." He sounded tight-lipped and reserved.

"Are you going to tell me what it was about? What your _problem _is?"

"No."

Sigh, and here we go again with the one-worded answers, which surprisingly, I didn't miss.

"Is that meant to be sufficient for both questions?"

"Yes."

"Edward you're not in the army, talk to me, I know you don't like him, that much is obvious but -"

"Bella will you just drop it, please?" His voice was stern but controlled.

"How about no, but don't worry, we're not doing this right now because believe it or not, we both have work to do, but later you'll tell me right?"

"Hmm."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, sure."

I smiled in victory and just hoped that Junior here didn't try and weasel out of not telling me, because I sure as hell wanted an explanation. I wanted some answers.

-

"Don't worry Esme it's only 4.10, I told him to leave his desk at 3.45 so he'll be here any minute." I had been trying to reassure her for the past couple of minutes that Junior wouldn't make up an excuse for dinner and that I would ensure his presence at the dinner table tonight, considering we would be arriving together.

"Ok Bella, it's just that we miss him, and it's been weeks since we actually saw him, and he's not even that far away." She sounded excited but nervous at the same time. Poor Esme.

"Don't worry Esme, tonight you'll be able to mother him all you like, you should be proud."

"Really?" She sounded so hopeful.

"Yeah, but I want him to tell you all about it, wait for tonight, we'll be there in less than two hours."

"Ok Bella, bye sweetie."

"Bye."

Footsteps approached the car and I guessed that Edward was here.

Jake huffed against the headrest; he was clearly getting impatient.

"Oh look, here's the Golden Boy." He murmured quietly. Luckily Edward was doing something in the boot that he didn't here Jake complaining.

"Hi Bella sorry I'm late, who was that on the phone? I thought you were done for today." He tried to sound light hearted but I could tell he was genuinely curious, I must have looked too happy to be talking to someone from work.

Nosy bastard.

"None of your business Junior." Jacob stifled a laugh from the front seat and forgot that there were other people around; Edward might not be ok with other people knowing his nick name.

"That's not - "

"But for your information, that was your mother I was talking to. Ok Jake I think we're all set, what's the traffic like today? "

"Good, not too busy, we should be there on time, I checked for accidents and stuff, all clear."

"Excellent."

"Wait; hold up a sec, why did you call my _mom_?I was only like ten minutes late?" He sounded impatient, as if he'd tried so hard to keep on time today. Oh Baby Cullen.

"Your _mom _called _me_; she wanted reassurance that her little boy wouldn't miss dinner tonight."

"Of course I wouldn't, this is important, jeez Bella I had to take a shower and send a couple of things off but I came straight here. What did she think I'd do, sneak out the back door and pretend I have plans? This stuff's important."

What right did he have to act all high and mighty; I had it on good authority that up until these past couple of weeks, he'd been a shithead, fuck; I _knew_ he'd been a shithead. I still hadn't forgotten about that incident.

"Yeah, because you've never done that before have you? Oh no wait, you have and regularly do, good job Cullen." Unfortunately that came out with a lot more venom than I originally meant. I winced as soon as I heard his sharp intake of breath.

Silence… Conversation ender extraordinaire. That was me.

The only sounds to be heard were the breaths of the three people in the car; I hated the silence and wanted someone to say something. Guess that's your fault Swan.

Tick tock, tick tock.

-

An hour passed, I was getting fidgety and still no-one spoke. I couldn't stand it any longer.

I touched my hand in what I hoped would be a kind gesture to his arm. Squeezing gently, I wanted to dispel the awkward environment in the car.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier, it was harsh." His arm flinched when I touched him and spoke but thankfully he didn't pull away, he obviously wasn't that mad.

He sighed and exhaled a shaky breath. "Yeah but it's true, you're right. Things are different now though. Everything's different." He added the last part in a much quieter voice and I don't think it was meant for me to hear.

I have no idea why, because it was totally inappropriate but I rubbed my thumb in soothing circles over his forearm. "It's ok because, no matter what, your parents are so proud of you. Just forget about all that stuff before, that's not you Edward, start afresh and enjoy tonight." I murmured, I felt bad because I didn't know whether our conversation was entirely private or not, even if Jake had put a privacy screen up.

I thought he had turned his head to the side to look at me, grasping my hand in his; I almost pulled it back because I could have sworn he shocked me. Man hands weren't supposed to be that soft, and warm, but not in the clammy sense. His warm hand wrapped around my own and it took all I had not to erupt into a Cheshire cat grin. I'd never had a boyfriend so having guys hold my hand was completely knew, if it was like this all the time then I can't say I minded.

Removing myself from the ridiculous haze of happiness at this simple gesture, I heard him whisper a tentative "thank you" and I felt myself blushing at my enjoyment of his warmth breath fanning across my cheek. And his smell, oh my god he smelt good, he clearly hadn't put on any cologne yet and he just smelled clean, but in a really fresh and _sexy_ way.

Isabella Swan, did you just refer to your _boss _as _sexy_?

Tingles were still running through my hand and right arm which meant that I was surprised when we pulled to a stop, so I yanked my hand back in what I hoped didn't seem like disgust. I really needed to concentrate more, whenever I was around Edward, my observational skills just vanished, and I wouldn't be surprised if they actually took a holiday on those occasions. I needed to try to be a bit more resilient, to get a grip.

"Mr Black, could you park at the bottom of the drive please? I'd like to take the walk up."

Jake made a noise that sounded like a gruff understanding of what Edward had said, but not any clear distinct words.

"Ok Bells, here we are, Cullen Central." I was still trying to stop thinking about the feeling of Edward's fingers wrapped around mine and the strong lean muscles I had felt in his arm. What was it about this man?

"Um, sure, uh thanks Jake, I'll see you Monday, have a good weekend."

"No worries, you sure you don't need driving anywhere over the weekend? Don't want you to be left stranded, I don't mind." I felt Edward stiffen at my side as I reached to get my bag.

"I bet you don't." Edward really wasn't good at murmuring things under his breath because I heard it loud and clear, although I doubt that Jake did.

"No thank you Jake, I appreciate the offer, but I can get a taxi if I need to go anywhere." Edward chuckled and I gave him an incredulous look. Crazy Cullen.

"Alright then, enjoy the weekend Bells…Mr Cullen." That was the first time Jake addressed had addressed Edward directly throughout the entire journey, and in my opinion, he was bordering on rude. I'd have a word with him next week; he had no reason to dislike Edward on a personal level.

I said goodbye to Jake, and stepped to the side, assuming Edward was going to get the bags from the boot. It was still early evening and having been inside the space of the warm car for a while made the outside air seem all the more chilly. I shivered lightly and felt Edward wrap his heavy wool coat around my shoulders, it wasn't really all that necessary, but I felt happy for it just the same.

"Thanks, you got all the bags?"

"Course, shall we?" We walked slowly up the footpath to the front of the house but not before placing my hand in his arm and tucking it in tightly. I liked that he remembered about my… impairment but didn't make it obvious.

"So what got you laughing in the car?"

"Oh, nothing, just something Jake said."

"Explain…?"

Pause. "He obviously thought I'm not good enough to look after you this weekend, which is exactly what I want to do." It felt like all the blood in my body rushed to my cheeks in that moment and I was sure I resembled a beetroot.

"Oh fuck, I'm sorry, I just meant that, if you need to go anywhere while we're here, I'll drive you, I know you mentioned something about seeing your dad this weekend. It's not a problem. Also it makes sense that I drive you home, seeing as we live in the same building."

I squeezed his arm to emphasize my spoken thank you. "You know you kept that pretty quiet, why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't find out until half way through the first week, and then at the weekend I saw you leave to go running with Sheila, and honestly Bella, I felt so bad, I couldn't think of saying anything but 'sorry' to you. I feel like such an ass, a fucking idiot for what I did. I really am sorry."

I pulled him to a stop because I wanted to get this over with before we got to the house. "I already told you that you were forgiven, remember? What happened with Aro, well we'll talk about that another time."

"Not just that Bella, but my whole attitude when you joined CGB, I approached this whole thing wrongly and I'm really sorry about that."

I believed his tender words of apology and honestly meant it when I told him he was forgiven. I'd put up with much worse behaviour in the past which had never been apologised for. Edward seemed to genuinely care, and that meant a hell of a lot.

Still very much taken by the forcefulness of his words I whispered. "It's ok Edward, come on, let's see those parents of yours."

He said nothing in response; and I soon heard the opening to what I presumed to be the front door as Edward guided me up the steps, my footsteps matching his. We reached the top of the steps and his arm moved from holding my hand to laying his palm flat against the small of my back.

_This isn't fair! It's impossible to establish coherency when I can feel _his _hand there. _

A shiver of pleasure ran though me that was unbelievably, for a woman of my age, completely foreign to me. What the hell is happening to me?

"Bella! Edward! I'm so happy you're both here." Esme called inside for Carlisle and embraced her son and from the sounds of it, almost knocked the wind out of him. Her voice became shaky and he seemed to be soothing her. I guess it had been longer than I thought since they had last seen him. Junior had a lot of family time to catch up on.

I stepped inside the house as I didn't want to observe the mini reunion that seemed to be going on. The truth was that I was extremely moved and almost saddened by the level of emotion Esme was showing. She was a very lively woman and I had never really heard her be upset, which really showed the significance of today. But more than that, for me, a tearful reunion with my mother wasn't at all possible. It was at times like this that I missed them the most.

I felt with my foot for the step into the house and managed to get into the foyer without falling over. I really wished I'd brought my stick with me, if I didn't have Sheila I made sure to never be without it. I realised I might have some trouble tomorrow getting around. Silly Bella. I'd have to ask one of the nurses tomorrow to give me a hand…or there's always Edward.

_Don't be ridiculous, he has more important things to do with his time than chaperone _you_ everywhere._

I had a feeling Carlisle had been observing the emotional exchange from in the foyer because when he approached me, I hadn't heard any footsteps. He came over to envelope me in a warm hug.

"Hey BB, how are you doing?"

"Good, it's been a good week. How about you?"

"I feel great, retirement, as Esme says, agrees with me completely."

"That's good to hear, I'm glad you're keeping well."

"And everything, at work, all that going ok?" He was clearly trying to be subtle about rooting for information on Edward's performance, and I'd be damned if I was going to tell him. That was not my story to tell. And, even though I had forgiven _him_, I had a feeling Papa C wouldn't be so forgiving if he found out tonight. Jesus that would be hell, but it would at least make for…_stimulating_ dinner conversation.

"Carlisle Cullen, you haven't even greeted your son yet and you want to talk about work. At least let Bella get changed." He received a thwack upside the head while Papa C greeted Junior stiffly with what I assumed to be a handshake. I'd been given the impression Edward wasn't in the parental good books so he wouldn't be getting the same greeting from both his parents.

Fortunately I was left to get changed, but not before being squeezed to death by Esme and shown to my room. Even though Rosalie had bombarded me last weekend with new clothes, she'd had my dress for tonight sent over 'special delivery' to my office as the 'perfect thing for Friday with the _Cullen's_'. She also didn't fail to mention that Edward would _love it._ I didn't know what she meant by that because she had no idea what he thought of me. I didn't know what _he _would possibly love about a particular dress on_ me._

I dispelled those thoughts while standing in the room where I would be spending the night,. I took the time to take in the scent of vanilla and cinnamon while I slipped off my shirt and trousers, folding them neatly in a pile. I think Esme had the nose of a dog, because she was always able to match scents together in any room unlike no-one else. In fact, she was the one who suggested having scents in each room for Sheila, to make my work life easier.

Even though I couldn't see the dress I had a feeling it was beautiful, it certainly felt like it. I splayed my hands across the silk and lifted it over my head. Because I couldn't see I checked its length, coming to just above my knees, and felt how long the dress sank in my chest, and was pleased at its modesty. I'd specifically requested something elegant and not very form fitting. It seemed as though she had stuck to it.

I let my hair down from its usual ponytail and bent over to 'give it some life', running my hands through the long wavy locks I settled for just pulling it around my shoulders to frame my face. It wasn't as if I could do anything else with it. Apparently I had fantastic hair and should wear it down more often. Well no time like the present.

Stepping out of my room across the threshold I encountered a hard chest and felt a sense of déjà vu. I braced myself with my hands against said chest to prevent any further embarrassment and shook my head in disbelief. I'm not particularly religious, but I was sure there was someone up there making sure I acted like an idiot around Edward, and put me constantly in these awkward situations.

What pulled me out of my own telling off was the fact that my hands after several minutes were _still _on his chest. He hadn't moved, and incidentally, neither had I. This confirmed to me that it definitely was Edward and took a deep breath to check. Oh yeah, definitely Baby Cullen, I'd recognise that woody scent anywhere.

"Bella are you ok?" His voice whispered to me and I was again granted the pleasure of having his sweet breath fan over my face.

The air was thick with a kind of…tension, but I didn't know why I was on edge, all I knew was that we were still standing so close, chest to chest. I jumped when I felt his sinful man hands on the tops of my arms, only putting a very small distance between us.

I gulped down something that seemed to be caught in my throat and realised then that this feeling was only a little better. I managed to mutter out an "I'm fine" that I don't think sounded too pathetic, I could be wrong. I shivered as his hands moved down torturously slowly to hold my wrists oh so gently, whilst his thumbs circled the insides of them, right near my pulse point. Strangely this wasn't a bad shiver; something told me that _this _was very _good. _

"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you look very _beautiful _tonight Isabella."

_Nope, I don't mind, you go ahead and tell me whenever you like._

I smacked my inner harlot's hand for thinking that but couldn't help but enjoy the words myself. Due to the lack of dating condition I was in, I couldn't actually remember a man ever saying that to me. So I really couldn't help the beaming smile I gave him in return which was a mixture of surprise and happiness.

"Thank you Edward, the dress, it isn't too -"

"No it's perfect."

"You didn't even know what I was going to say." I tired to admonish him seriously but I ended up laughing.

"True, but I still stand by what I said."

"I bet that's what you say to all the girls." Cheesy lines Swan, in future, just don't talk.

"Once upon a time yes, now, definitely not." I blushed at his admittance and ducked my head again.

"Alright, so what look is Junior sporting tonight then?" Instead of answering he grasped my hands and with his guided them up to his chest, allowing me to feel his form fitting shirt.

This is the second time tonight I've felt him up, oh god, this is the most intimate I've ever been with a man and he's my _boss. How is this happening?!_

"White shirt." And then our hands migrated down to his hips where I felt denim. Oh, and not forgetting, the slim hips OF MY BOSS.

"Black jeans." I was practically shivering by this point and was glad that my hands weren't being pulled down any further to his…shoes or something. I felt some sort of control slipping but had no idea what I was going to do. My hands finally came to rest on the lapels of his collar and I felt myself lightly touching the smooth skin of his neck. Bravely, and without any thought whatsoever, I removed my hands from his and made my way to his jaw to see if the skin was as smooth there.

_What are you doing? This isn't right. Why isn't he stopping me? Why aren't I stopping?_

His own gasp echoed my own and I cupped my hands around his face, standing on my tiptoes to meet his smooth, freshly shaven face and the silky soft hair at the base of his neck. I was pretty near hyperventilating now and closed my eyes in concentration. I was sure he couldn't see that anyway behind my Ray-Bans.

"Come on kids we're ready when you want to come down." Carlisle's shouting voice from downstairs pulled me out of my lusty haze and I pulled my hands back down from Edward's face to my sides. Breathing heavily and trying to regain composure, I realized I wasn't the only one trying to catch their breath.

Oh my goodness what was _that? _I didn't know what kind of tension the upper hallway was full of _now _but it was enough to render us both speechless.

Still unable to find the words to say, I was grateful that Edward was. "Bella, I think we should go down now." His voice was strangled and I was pretty sure mine would have been the same.

I felt for the banister at the same time that Edward clasped my hand.

"Need some help?"

I blushed. Yes, in fact I do, after that, I'll probably need to be committed because I will be replaying those few minutes the _entire _weekend and adding it to my non-existent library of heated moments.

"Um, no, I'm fine thank you; it's only thirty-two steps."

"Ok." He chuckled, but placed his hand on my lower back anyway.

Edward Cullen you are going to be the death of me.

**Ok, so this is the most, romantic moment they've ever had. Let me know what you think. I still stand by this being a slow burner, they aren't going to jump in bed after dinner, and my Bella's too good for that. I really hope you enjoyed it; I quite liked writing this chapter.**

**Have a lovely Sunday beautiful readers and maybe (number of reviews depending), I'll see you next week! **

**Aurora**


	9. Family Time Part II

**Happy Sunday readers! I thought I'd post this before watching the Grand Prix, it's a little shorter than usual and there is an A/N at the end that is very important, so please read it. **

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all mine ok? Good. **_

_Last time…_

"_Um, no, I'm fine thank you; it's only thirty-two steps."_

"_Ok." He chuckled, but placed his hand on my lower back anyway._

_Edward Cullen you are going to be the death of me._

**Chapter 9 – Family Time Part II**

Dinner with the Cullens was, and always had been a pretty informal affair. It made the fact that I was eating with two men who could make a mockery of the City's rich list, that much more bearable.

What was not all that bearable though, was that one of the aforementioned men was Edward Cullen.

The same Edward Cullen I'd had just practically molested in the upper hallway. Personally I'd never had such close contact with a man for such a prolonged period of time, so when I say I was shaken to my core, I don't lie.

I tried my hardest; honestly I did, to focus on the taste of the wonderful individual cheese soufflés Esme had prepared as our starter. The woman knew how to butter me up; she gave me cheese as soon as I arrived for God's sake. However there was the small, _constant_ distraction of Edward brushing his arm up against mine, or reaching over to fill up my glass of sparkling water. Admittedly it wasn't something that I could exactly do myself without ruining something. But did he have to smell so damn _good _being that close?

_Perhaps its genetic, it might be a condition, poor man probably can't help it. And all you do is sniff and touch him. _

I might have believed this at first, but after the _third _time of his hand brushing mine, followed by an apology, and of course my gasp and consequent blush. I knew what he was up to. Or at least _he knew_ what he was up to.

After all, I was the blind one, he could see perfectly well.

Damn him for _insisting _we sit at the kitchen table, which conveniently and _snugly _I might add, fits four people around it. Contact with Junior throughout this would unfortunately, be unavoidable.

_You didn't feel so unfortunate half an hour ago, in fact you felt really very _good.

A very long, silent on my part, ten minutes passed for the duration of the starter and I felt I could breathe again when Esme came to take the plates away, taking Carlisle with her. It was strange, Carlisle had been extremely quiet and terse at best when he addressed his son, I put it down to lack of communication between two stubborn men. But something told me, maybe it was the atmosphere of the room, that there was more to say, than was being said.

I inhaled deeply and smiled when I felt the tight feeling in my chest dissipate and I remembered my yoga breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. The effect was soothing and ultimately relaxing. I rolled my shoulders back and moaned; sitting in an office chair all day takes its toll on the body.

"Mmmmm…" I actually heard all the little clicks in my shoulders and back as I rolled them alternately and decided next week to get a better chair.

"Ok there Bella?"

"Yeah you know, just bad shoulders, those of us who _go_ to work have to sit in these god awful chairs that do us no favours." I was teasing him now and tried not to giggle, ultimately I failed.

He laughed too and I had wondered for a minute whether or not he would think me rude. "I'll get you a new chair but you should keep up your yoga, it's good for you, it'll only help."

"Duly noted Coach Cullen, thanks." A mock salute just seemed like the most appropriate thing to do.

"Wait, how do you know I do yoga?"

"How could I not? The best part of the first week was you treating me to a _rear view _of one of the poses." Luckily by the tone of his voice I could tell he was only teasing and not actually offended, but it didn't stop me being completely embarrassed at the same time.

Unfortunately the conversation soon turned more…sentimental?

"You know that colour blue looks remarkable on you, it's beautiful."

"Um…yeah, you already said."

"That's not going to stop me telling you again." He laughed, as if he were stating something simple and obvious.

"I get it, you like the dress." I mumbled nervously. In between the plates clearing he had shifted his chair closer and turned his body in the direction of mine. I actually had to swallow back my nerves a couple of times.

_Get it together Swan!_

"Yes I do, it's pretty, but you, you look _beautiful._" His voice was small again and I could hear my own nervousness reflected in his. Edward Cullen, nervous, that wasn't something I was used to. It was unsettling. But still, I focused on the way the word 'beautiful' sounded when it came out of his mouth, how it seemed to wrap around me in its warmth, the sincerity of it.

He wasn't trying to fish for a return compliment. He didn't want any favours. Here, tonight, he meant it. My past mistrust of Edward's words had disappeared, and in its place was appreciation and happiness.

"Thank you." I mumbled. A few awkward moments of silence stretched between us before Edward next spoke.

"Would you like some wine Bella, we have lasagne next but I wasn't sure whether you'd prefer red or white?"

"Neither thank you, I don't really drink. Ever; I like to keep my wits about me." I winced at how I sounded like a I was fifty, or at least twice my current age. Why couldn't I be a _normal, _cool and flirty twenty-four year old woman?

"Why, we're not at work anymore, you can relax here, you know that."

"I know, but I need to, now more than ever, have my wits about me that is." Didn't he understand that I had to struggle so much tonight, to stop from sighing every time he touched me? Or when he spoke, how my name sounded so different and sweet on his lips, and how much I wanted to feel that soft hair again. Clearly not, but no way was I about to give myself an opening for a weak link, such as losing inhibitions. They seemed to be 'out of office' tonight as it was.

"Wh -" He was cut off by Papa C entering with what I knew had to be Esme's home-made lasagne, which I would, without a doubt, cross coals for.

The lasagne was, and as with anything that Esme makes, simply delicious. I successfully maintained small talk, feeling much more comfortable, for a good way through the main course. I asked about their plans for the year, they wanted to know about Sheila, they were looking forward to Christmas, and so far the questions were all pretty good, avoiding the thing I didn't want to talk about.

Until of course, Papa C had to ask _that _question. The air shifted because the silence in the room preceded something bad, very bad.

"So Edward, I've been hearing all sorts of _interesting_ things from the office, how are you and Bella getting on? No problems I hope."

My fork froze on the way to my mouth, because I _knew _that tone of voice. It was the voice that he had used at work, and before I knew the Cullens so well, would actually scare me shitless. It was so unfamiliar. He knew exactly what he was talking about and was just waiting for Edward to give him the opportunity to pounce, to say the words.

Unfortunately, Junior walked right into it, and without a moment's hesitation. I wanted to hold my head in my hands. Why now?

"Great, everything's great. I'm very grateful to have Bella on board."

"Well you see, that is interesting, because I've been hearing some very bizarre, frankly disappointing news. Would you care to enlighten me?" This was going to be bad, Carlisle was ruthless in disciplining employees, I could only imagine the lack of finesse he would have with his 'disappointing' son.

I had to intervene, I couldn't let this happen, and I didn't want to talk about this tonight.

"Carlisle I really don't think we should talk about this tonight."

"Isabella, please. I want to hear this from Edward. I want to hear what he has to say." His voice was too nice, for what I knew he was thinking about. It was that day, that day after the meeting with Aro, when Edward and I, had our misunderstanding.

"Carlisle please…" Edward placed his hand over mine in a silencing gesture and I wanted that first week to disappear. I knew it had happened, and I understood the gravity of it at the time, but I didn't want to relive it. I didn't _Edward_ to relive it, in just a week; he'd more than made up for it. He was a completely different person, he was doing a good job.

_And he makes you feel beautiful. _

Esme, the voice of reason, spoke up trying to dissuade her husband. "Carlisle dear, maybe it would be better if you and Edward had a talk in your study, it'd be more private."

"No I really think now is a good time, all of us here, together."

"Carlisle…" Esme's tone was warning.

I jumped when he slammed his hands down on the table and felt a shiver run through me. This was going to be worse than I thought.

"Why are you defending him?! You and I both know what he _did_! How he's treated Bella!"

I surmised from this that Carlisle knew not just what was going on, but everything. I had no idea how he knew so much, since I hadn't spoke to him since I last had dinner at the house, and Edward most definitely wouldn't have told him. It couldn't be Aro could it? I knew he and Carlisle were close when they worked together…and Edward clearly had distaste for the man, but I didn't think he'd stoop so low as to rat on his former bosses' son.

I had to speak up; this was nothing to do with them. Edward and I had resolved our issues and we were getting on better than ever, which would only be good for the company. I wanted them both to understand that this wasn't important anymore.

"Dad I think you're confused." Edward sounded anxious, he should be scared, I'd be willing to bet that he'd never seen his father angry, he'd been away too long.

"Confused?! What the fuck Edward?! Confused is assaulting the person I send to sort you the fuck out! And you have the decency to sit here watching her? Bella is one of the finest in her field and this is how you treat her?!" By now I could hear that he was standing, his voice booming and commanding passing straight through me. I wanted to cry. This was my entire fault. Edward had never _assaulted _me, which was a charging offense.

"What?!" Edward sounded panicked and genuinely, well…confused, which quite frankly matched my own feelings.

Assault was a direct hit, like punching someone, or sexual assault, which if anything, if we were making _ridiculous assumptions_, Edward would be the victim of. What happened between us was a misunderstanding. What had he been told?

"You know what. Don't play the innocent with me son, I overlooked many things but this I will not, I should have you sent for review!"

"Carlisle I did not hit her! I would never -" Edward was fierce in his protest and I knew that he was telling the truth. Edward would never hit me, what happened was an accident

"Alright all of you calm down, Carlisle, outside with me -" Esme's voice was controlled and measured, but I could hear her worry at her husband's lack of composure.

"But Esme -" He wanted to stand his ground, but as ferocious as Carlisle Cullen could be, he was a kitten to his tigress of a wife. Esme rarely, and I mean rarely raised her voice, but when she did, oh boy.

"Right now Carlisle Cullen! In the kitchen!"

I heard their footsteps leave the room into the kitchen and my head collapsed into my hands. Shaking my head back and forth I felt the beginnings of tears come to my eyes. I rubbed them away quickly, that was the last thing I wanted Edward to see.

"I'm so sorry Edward, I didn't know – how -"

I felt his arm reach around my shoulders and rub my back, he was the one soothing _me._ And I was selfish enough to feel good about having his hands on me, what kind of person was I?

"I didn't say anything Edward I swear, I don't, what does he think happened?" I couldn't even get my words out right; this wasn't how I wanted the evening to go at all. This was such a mess.

"I know you didn't Bella, he's just, he thinks that all the information he has is correct."

"He's wrong! And this-this isn't important, he should be _proud of you! _Why is he so angry?_"_ I didn't bother to try and stop my tears now, I was so overly emotional, the past two weeks had taken their toll on me and it felt so good to cry.

We could both hear the shouting in the kitchen but I wasn't about to bring it up, it would make everything all the more real.

"Shh, Bella it's ok, look, let me talk to him, ok." His words were calming and his arm had moved from around my shoulders to grasping both of my hands in his and rubbing them lightly. Through my tears I gasped at the contact and couldn't help but smile in this shitty situation.

I was never one to want for attention, I never wanted to be the centre of things, especially before the accident, but here, right now, with his large hands engulfing mine, I felt so…precious.

The tears rolling down my cheeks changed to happy ones, and I was sick to my core at myself, so disgusted, that I could even think about that right now. But all there was was Edward moving his thumb over my cheek to catch the lone tear falling, whilst his other incredibly warm hand stayed locked in mind.

I wanted more though; I wanted to lean my forehead against his and rest my hands at the nape of his neck, playing with the hair there and just breathe. Breathe in all that was Edward, the first man to actually make me feel like a woman, the first man to make me feel _anything._

Light footsteps approached the table cautiously, and I knew them to be Esme's.

"Bella, I'm going to talk to him now, are you ok?"

I mutely nodded. I didn't want to cry again, or ask him to hold my hand, which was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me.

"Mom can you show Bella to her room? I think she should get some sleep." Edward must have communicated something with his mother because she murmured that she needed to get me some 'slippers', even though she knew I never wore any.

Before I knew it, I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck. If holding hands felt good, this was like an electric shock, but I'd take it any day. I swallowed the lump in my throat again and whispered fervently to him.

"No matter what, Edward, I am so _proud _of you." I let go of him quickly, trying my best to ignore his gasp of shock and my being so forward. I couldn't help myself. I had to pull away, afraid that I wouldn't be able to if I held on any longer.

Esme miraculously returned with my 'slippers' and I didn't even bother to pretend to ask for them as I took her arm as she led me up the stairs. The whisper of goodnight from Edward faded into the silence of the house.

"Sweetie I am so sorry about dinner, and Edward, I'm sorry for what he -"

"Don't, please don't. Goodnight Esme."

Laying in the comfort of the magnificent bed, I knew, here and now, no matter what, that life would be different. The last things that crossed my mind before sleep overtook me were warm hands on my face and soft silky hair on my cheek.

-

I had set my alarm for eight o'clock, because that was usually a lie in for me, even at the weekends. Somehow that surpassed me, and my body felt that ten o'clock was a more appropriate time to wake up. Jesus, I can't remember the last time I had gotten up this late.

With some assistance from the cleaning staff, not wanting to bother anyone, I made my way down to the kitchen sniffing out the smell of coffee like some deranged bloodhound.

"Good morning Bella." That wasn't particularly the voice I wanted to hear, not after last night anyway. I stiffened as a reaction to how he'd acted and ran my hand through my hair in exasperation. At least he had the fucking decency to sound contrite, I swear if he wasn't going to apologise, then I'd kick him in the balls, or just set Sheila on him.

"Carlisle." I didn't know which direction the conversation was going to take this morning, I didn't want to start with small talk.

I settled down, a double espresso in my hands which had automatically been handed to me.

"BB I'm sorry, last night was a gross misunderstanding."

"Yeah, it really was. You know, I respect you more than anyone else in the world, I thought that in all the time I'd worked for you, all the time you'd known me, that I at least deserved a little trust."

"BB of course I trust -"

"Let me finish. I mean really, did you not think any of that through? Firstly, if I had been _assaulted_, _violated or seriously injured_ by any member of staff at CGB, you would be the first to know about it, whether or not it was your son. Secondly, if that had happened, Edward would from here on out, be considered _disabled._ I mean for fucks sake, I own a fucking German shepherd; she's not a lap dog! Thirdly, and you know what, this is what really _disappoints _me. Your _son_ who you threw into the deep end, he may not be the most experienced, or the most ruthless CEO _yet_, but I am _proud _of the way he handled things last week, so don't you EVER doubt him. Don't you dare."

My hands were balled into fists and the skin stretched across my knuckles tightly, probably turning them white.

"I know."

"Oh what, did you have a fucking epiphany?"

"When I spoke to Edward last night, it became very clear that I had _misjudged _the situation. I think what I was told was largely exaggerated, which was why I reacted the way I did. There are things I didn't take into consideration, things I didn't even _dare to think about_. But that's all clear now."

The elusive Cullen rears its head.

"Now I know where he gets it from. The aloof gene, you got that one down."

"So am I forgiven?" He chuckled, but I think it was more nervous than humorous.

"Did you apologize to Edward? Is he ok?" I raised my eyebrows in question.

"Of course."

"Well then, that's good enough for me. You're in the clear Papa C, but on one condition."

"Name it."

"In future, believe what he says, not some fucked up office bullshit or wherever you heard it from."

"Ok Bella, I will. So are you going to visit Charlie today?"

"Yeah I already rang ahead, they're expecting me, and I've got someone to help me around, because I forgot my stick."

"Are you sure that's a good idea Bella, you've had a tough week, and last night…"

"I need to see my dad Carlisle."

"What time are you going? I can take you myself but I've got a conference call in half an hour, can you wait?"

"Edward's taking me." I let a grin spread across my face; I really loved saying his name.

"Are you sure?" He tried not to sound sceptic but failed.

"Yes, I _trust_ him." I hope that stung.

-

Sitting in the car with Edward was like being with a kid at Christmas. Apparently he hadn't actually had the chance to drive in a while so he relished the opportunity to give his car 'a spin'. He sounded so excited.

Of course when he described what the car was like it didn't make much sense because first, I couldn't speak 'car' and second, because I couldn't see the damn thing. The leather seats felt like they were moulded just for me as they wrapped around my shoulders and almost hugged my frame. I shifted around happily settling into a comfortable position, listening to the pleasant hum of the engine which was strange since I was sure we passed the national speed limit a while ago.

"They're a sport seat, that's why they fit your body." He sounded happy and proud, a stark contrast to this morning at the house.

After my one-to-one with Carlisle Edward found me nursing my second cup of coffee and dragged me off quickly to the garage, unsurprisingly eager to leave. He seemed content enough, but I don't think father and son completely made up, although their relationship wasn't exactly stellar to begin with.

"Oh, right." I nodded with mock nonchalance, really, all this was quite exciting.

"So where does your dad live? Is it in town because I'm going to have to turn off soon?"

I realized that Edward was coming with me, taking me there, so of course I had to tell him, he had to know.

"Uh, no actually, my dad's in a nursing home. He's about ten years older than Carlisle and Esme, late fifties, but he first had a stroke five years ago and a couple more since then. He's been showing signs of dementia for a while, but they keep me updated. He needs someone to take care of him, and I can't." I wasn't expecting my voice to break on the last part.

_Someone to take care of him. _That someone would never be me, it couldn't ever be me.

A couple of minutes passed and I was grateful for the silence. Usually I had music on when I travelled but today, because of what I was doing, I needed a couple to think. I let my head rest against the back of the seat and breathed evenly.

Most people, if I had told them about my dad, would jump right in with the apologies acting as though he's dead. They would give me their condolences which after the first hundred, end up being meaningless.

My hands were resting unfolded in my lap and I soon felt his hand in mine and it was wonderful, in so many ways. This wasn't pity; this was support and admiration. I exhaled a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding when his thumb started rubbing something circles against my pulse point. The fire in his touches last night was replaced today with something unnameable, but somehow even more significant.

I didn't want to dwell for the rest of the journey, and Edward needed directions.

"The place, it's in town, follow the signs to the hospital and just before you get there, there's a country road twisting to the right, follow that to the end and then you'll see it."

He mumbled thanks, squeezing my hand to seal it.

Why does Edward Cullen want to hold my hand? Surely this thing I had was entirely selfish, here he was trying to be a gentleman and I was clinging like some kind of Koala bear.

"Bella, tell me what you're thinking, please?"

I paused, how could he possibly know, and even if he didn't, I wasn't sure I should tell him, this wasn't exactly professional, but because it was outside of the office, I was past caring.

"How do you know I'm thinking anything?"

"Well I can't read your mind, but, for one I think you're always thinking about something, about everything and plus your eyebrows are pulled together and you're cheeks are, well you're blushing."

I laughed, more out of awkwardness than anything. Was that a compliment? Anything in his voice sounded so beautiful so it was hard to tell.

"Never mind what I'm thinking, you should be watching the road. You know we drive over the other side here. You need to concentrate." I chided gently. I didn't mean for him to remove his hand from mine and I frowned when he did. This elicited a chuckle from him and a sigh from me.

"Yes ma'am." He obviously wasn't offended because he laughed that carefree easy sound, and I loved being able to do that to him. I wasn't exactly the funniest, most social girl ever.

The ground shifted underneath the car and I knew we were near, main roads didn't feel like this.

"You want me to come with you? I don't mind."

"No, don't be silly, I don't want to be a burden, and believe me you don't want to. Can you just take me to the front entrance? We're a little late so there should be someone there."

"No problem Bella, that's perfectly fine. There's a small Indian woman in a nurse's uniform. Does that sound right?"

"Oh yeah, that's Amita, she usually looks after me."

"I could do that." I didn't know what to think of what he'd said, and in what capacity he meant it. I think it was probably a comforting gesture, which was nice. We said our goodbyes and he agreed to pick me up later this afternoon, mentioning something about lunch. I tried to refuse but my stomach only grumbled in response. I'd missed breakfast this morning.

-

Spending time with Charlie was no less painful than usual. I spoke to him about all that I'd been doing, he asked after Sheila and I told him all about our weekend running in Holland Park. He was tired and I could tell he hadn't been doing well. Amita had warned me he hadn't been doing well recently, but that was difficult to understand over the phone, but all too clear in person.

I wept silent tears for my father and didn't say a word to Edward as he picked me up from where he had dropped me off. I think he was trying to talk to me but I couldn't make any of it out, this hadn't gone as I'd expected. Each time I kept thinking he'd be getting better, instead of worse, and I found no comfort in the fact that things hadn't improved.

I didn't realise we'd pulled to a stop, and we must have parked somewhere because Edward's door opened and closed and he ran around to my side. My door was pulled open and he took my hands in his, the gesture familiar now, but not able to take away my anguish.

"Please don't cry Bella, please don't." His voice sounded so pained and I wanted more than anything to take that away.

"Charlie doesn't, he can't, he -" My words were mumbling but I wanted to tell someone.

"What Bella, tell me what's wrong?"

"He doesn't remember me Edward; he doesn't know who I am."

**Wow…that was a little more emotional than I'd originally intended but I hope you liked it. **

**I want to end up with about 200 reviews at the end of chapter 10. I know its quality not quantity, but I want to know that I'm doing all of you right by this. Just a little reassurance.**

**I have some bad news, the next month or so is crucial for my work, and I mean extremely important, I cannot afford to fuck it up, so because of this I won't be updating until ****20****th**** May**** at the very earliest. I'm really sorry about this but it's unavoidable, I hope you all stay with me; I'd hate to lose any of you.**

**Have a fantastic day all of you, and thank you for reading. I'll try to get back to reviews and I'm always more than happy to answer questions and take suggestions, your views mean so much to me. **

**Love you all.**

**Aurora**


	10. You Give Me Something

**Oh readers it's been too long. You can't begin to imagine how much I've missed writing. Unfortunately my flight was delayed 24 hours so I finally got home at midnight last night instead of Wednesday night. **

**This is unedited, very raw, but I had to update with something.**

**I hope you all like this, and remember, I'm still praying to break the 200 mark with this one. Pretty please? To make up for the weeks of hell at work I've had to endure. **

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all mine ok? **__**Good. **_

**Happy Birthday to jtaylor1972 for yesterday****, I'm sorry I couldn't update on the day, I was on a plane **

_Last time…_

"_Charlie doesn't, he can't, he -" My words were mumbling but I wanted to tell someone._

"_What Bella, tell me what's wrong?"_

"_He doesn't remember me Edward; he doesn't know who I am." _

**Chapter 10 – You Give Me Something**

The sound of the smooth engine of the car was all that occupied my thoughts. The passenger window was down so I could feel the air rushing past me and I imagined driving down the country lanes near where I used to live with Renee and Phil. It was soothing not to have to talk, even though I more than owed him an explanation, I just didn't want to, I don't know, _talk. _I felt guilty because he was kind enough to take me to see my own dad, and I break down and tell him to drive…_somewhere. _

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know if I can, it feels strange even thinking about it, I'm trying not to. Sorry, you shouldn't have had to see that, I really appreciate you driving me to see him." And I did. Despite the day being a little bit more miserable than I'd anticipated, I was glad I'd gone to see him; I knew I'd left it too long.

His hand sought mine and gave it a quick squeeze signalling his thanks. He didn't need to say it. His thumb lazily moved up over the back of my hand in circles, and it was just what I needed, but it meant I had to seriously concentrate on my footing. Walking or assembling any kind of use of my motor skills was difficult when he was touching me.

After regaining some dignity and trying to not cry endlessly in front of my boss I directed Edward to take me to one of my favourite places in the world. I'd never been on a plane, but my own exotic paradise invoked such a feeling of peace and serenity in me, that would surely beat the Bahamas.

It was by the river running through the town a ten minute drive away from the care home. I used to come here when I first started secondary school. Everyday I'd sit on a bench sheltered by huge trees and surrounded by wild flowers, it was one of the most important memories I had of when I had my sight. I remembered every step from the back of the library to my bench and every large root I'd have to avoid. I hadn't come here in years but it was where I wanted to be right now.

I'd told Edward about my aforementioned haven and like the responsible 24-year-old CEO he was, he asked me 'are we there yet?' literally every ten paces. I doubted _his _visual abilities as he was the one out of the two of us who _could _see.

He tugged on my arm again and I couldn't help but chuckle. I kept quiet because I knew we'd be there any minute now.

"You see the bench on the right?"

"Yeah."

"This is it." I lifted my head and took a deep breath of air that was presumably infinitely cleaner than city air.

"Wow." He sounded awestruck and I knew it was just the same as I remembered it. My smile spread wide across my face and Edward guided me down to the bench.

"Bella, this is just…amazing." I knew he could see the sunset and the beautiful orange red colours of the leaves and how the tree in front of us leaning over the river made it look like some kind of nirvana. The gentle warm breeze blowing around the trees was unusual for this time of year but it made the memory of the place even more potent for me.

In my school days, this was the only place I ever really wanted to be. I disliked most of the people I encountered in my school days and nobody ever made an effort to talk to me, what with me being so shy. I didn't have to shelter my face against the harsh remarks of schoolchildren that come with being skinny and unattractive. Not when I came to my haven.

No-one ever came here. I mean in the five years of school I'd had, there had been maybe half a dozen people, at most, who would wander past. I just sat and revelled in my memories, in all the beauty I remember seeing in this place. I didn't feel the need to explain anything. I think in a way, he knew that this was something special. His arm lay over my shoulders in a comforting gesture and I relaxed against his side.

I didn't know what this was, but I wanted to sigh because of how happy I was at this moment. I'd always underestimated the value of a relationship, or even companionship. I'd certainly had no need of it before. I never remember even _wanting _to be close to a man.

The only loving relationship I'd ever known, that was mutual anyway, was that of Carlisle and Esme. It was clear as day that they were in love, after all these years. They're love for each other was so blatant in everything they said and the way they acted. Even when they 'argued', Esme especially couldn't be mad for long and they _always _said 'I love you' afterwards. It was the picture of something truly perfect; but I just couldn't imagine spending forever, or at least the human version of it, with one person. Not that I disagreed with monogamy, I who had never even had a male friend let alone a _boyfriend_, it was just strange to think about.

But right now I wasn't thinking about forever. All that mattered to me, here at this amazing place, was feeling the heavy but not uncomfortable weight of Edward's arm around my shoulders and his hard but comforting chest against my head, his fingers dancing across the top of my arm. If I could have a friend in Edward, even if he was my only friend, then I'd be infinitely happier than ever before. I just didn't know why everything meant _so much_, and why this ache in my chest was only becoming stronger.

We'd been sitting for a while when my stomach started grumbling, which was extremely embarrassing, it didn't really occur to me that I hadn't eaten since last night. The day had been kind of exhausting; I don't remember the last time I'd had so much time to think about so many things, other than work, at once.

"You want to get something to eat?"

"Sure." I could do with some cheese right now, cheesy pizza, or even better, cheese soufflé.

Mmmm…

I may have started whimpering at the thought of satisfying my ridiculous cheese obsession. Edward had the decency to not ask and just chuckled, leading me by my hand along the river at a good pace compared to the leisurely stroll of earlier.

"Sorry, I'm kinda hungry; I didn't really grab anything this morning." I felt bad. Here I was thinking about my own stomach and poor Edward hadn't eaten any more than I had, and he was much bigger.

"S'ok. Come on, there's a pizza place opposite the library, we can sit outside there." It suddenly registered that Edward hadn't placed my hand in his arm like before; he was still holding my hand. It was an incredible feeling really, something so simple could be so pleasing. I squealed like the girly teenager I didn't know existed in me. But I still didn't know what all this meant.

Thank God we were served quickly, I told Edward to not bother reading me the menu and to just pick something with cheese, and lots of it. I was wondering what I'd get. I think he'd sensed the urgency in my tone and I chuckled when he prompted the waiter to bring over some extra parmesan 'just in case'.

I may or may not have snorted at this.

I devoured my four cheese pizza in a very un-lady like length of time and groaned when the freshly grated sprinkled-on parmesan and the melted cheese came into my mouth.

"Looks like someone's hungry. Did that pizza hurt you or do something wrong?" His laughter sounded carefree and sort of beautiful. But mocking, let's not forget the mocking.

"Yeah, but this is so _good_. I want to eat ten of these but I don't think my stomach is big enough. There's just so much _cheese._" My inner harlot had taken a break from mentally molesting Edward and was rubbing her hands over her stomach, beaming.

"In Italy we used to make these every Saturday before class, now I don't get so much time to do it." He mused.

I swear to God I came so close to spitting out my sparkling water I'd been sipping.

"You _cook?_" I said incredulously.

"Um, yeah?" He made it sound like I'd hit him if he admitted to it, but I was just so shocked.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, Esme didn't really agree on sending me to Italy for business school. So when Carlisle signed me up for this cooking class she slowly started to get used to the idea and didn't mind so much. I think she was relieved that I'd be able to cook something half decent for myself instead of going out all the time."

"Wow, I had no idea."

"I know, surprise right? I'm not _actually _useless." He chuckled but all I did was stiffen, my mind swung back to last night.

"I never said you were." I couldn't help but reply in a dead tone. I looked down at the table and fiddled with my napkin. He'd more than proven that he was capable, both at work and outside it. I didn't want him thinking that I thought of him that way.

"I'm sorry Bella, that was a stupid thing to say, just ignore that ok."

"You know I don't think you're useless, you _know that_."

"I do. But you had to have admit you thought that when you first came to work."

Idiot.

"No, actually, I didn't. You were an arrogant cocky bastard who happened to get my coffee order right but you weren't useless. And now I actually happen to be fucking proud of you, alright." I may have said that a little too loud. The people around us had miraculously quietened and Edward wasn't saying anything.

We finished eating and I raised my hand for the bill only to be told that Edward had _more than enough_ covered our bill when we came in.

As I sat in the car I realised what I was feeling was nerves. I'd been very vocal at dinner and probably come across quite passionate about how I felt about work this week. The truth was that I'd had high expectations of him before I'd even met him. He'd had to take over his own father's position at CGB and I couldn't begin to imagine the pressure he was under to perform. In truth, he wasn't ready for this. I had no doubts now that he would be more than fine, but he needed experience for the job. All he had at the moment was a stellar qualification from one of the best business schools in Europe and the 'Cullen' name.

He interrupted my musings with a disheartened sigh.

"I'm sorry I don't get it right all the time. I do try."

"I know. And that's ok. This is going to take a lot of getting used to, by the time Christmas and Phase 1 is over, you'll be doing this stuff in your sleep."

"I wasn't talking about work."

"Oh."

"I mean, talking, communicating with you. I'm not…used to it, ok? Most of the encounters I've had with women haven't exactly involved a lot of conversation." He sounded embarrassed and it was kind of cute.

_Oh so you're boss is _cute _now is he?_

Shut up.

"That's ok; just don't fuck up that often alright."

"No it's not. I say the worst things around you and I do the wrong thing. But I don't ever want to hurt you or see you upset, no matter what."

I blushed, he sounded like he was struggling with his words, even though I didn't know what he looked like, I bet he still looked cute fumbling.

_Jesus Swan, get a grip!_

"So does that mean we're friends? Is that ok?"

He didn't answer for a minute and I thought I'd overstepped some boundary. He did say he cared about me, in a roundabout way, and last night he called me beautiful. I blushed again and had to lower my head for fear of resembling a lobster.

"Absolutely." His voice didn't sound as enthused as before and now the atmosphere in the car was awkward. Luckily we hadn't had any trouble with traffic and he only seemed to increase our speed down the motorway. I didn't want to tell him to slow down; he can drive however damn fast he wants in his car. But I knew that what I'd said somehow caused the tension in the car.

"Charlie can't remember me because he has Alzheimer's. He had the first stroke about five years ago and then his second last year. They've been talking about him showing signs for a while but I guess his turn for the worse recently really was just that. He remembers me telling him bits about what I do, but he doesn't actually remember _me. _Amita told him his daughter was here to see him and he had no idea what she was talking about. He seemed to be alright with 'Bella' though; I guess he couldn't make the connection.

I've got upset when I've been to see him before, and I should have told you that, should have told you more of how things were. I guess I was expecting some of the therapies they've been doing with him to start working. I just don't like the idea of him being on a constant cocktail of drugs."

I felt better after telling him, getting some of it off my chest felt good. I knew it was the wrong thing to do and I almost regretted doing it but I slid my hand over the centre console and hoped that he'd do the same.

"Oh Bella." His hand found mine and the relief I felt combined with the emotion of the day resulted in tears falling down my cheeks. I really tried to retain some composure.

"I just wanted to talk to my Dad today, but they said he's only going to get worse." At that my control completely crumbled and I tried to take deep breaths but they came out as ragged.

His hand squeezed mine infinitely tighter and I regretted doing this whole, confessional speech while he was driving. I concentrated on the individual feel of each of his fingers wrapped around mine and felt myself calm down.

The truth was, even though Charlie has been ill for a long time, I've been clinging on to the hope that he would get better, not a full recovery, but at least an improvement. If Charlie dies, then I don't have anyone. I don't have any family. Even though I never surrounded myself with people, it was a great comfort to know that my Dad was _around, _that I _could _at least go and see him if I wanted. I don't want to be left alone. With that thought I had to squeeze my eyes tightly shut to stop any more tears escaping.

After a while we pulled up to the garage underneath our apartment building and I heard the car door open and Edward help me out, holding my hand again. I hadn't realised how low down the car was so I stumbled a bit on my way out. Luckily he was there to catch me. I stayed locked in his arms and I can't say I minded.

_Nope, not one bit._

"You know you should go easy on the sparkling water. That stuff's evil." I tried not to smile but when I did, I couldn't help laughing as well.

"Stupid car." I mumbled.

"Hold up, do you even know what car this is?"

"No." I said indignantly.

"It's a Porsche 911 Carrera S. You can't hate the car." He said all this in mock seriousness but I could tell it was something he cared about. Talk about stereotypical male.

"Alright, I'll lay off the car, and the sparkling water. Maybe I should stick to still."

"You should, but for the record, I don't mind if you do _lie on _my car." I shivered as I felt his hands on the small of my back, but it wasn't from the cold. Is this what having a friend is like? Because being Edward's friend induced very strong physical reactions from me, and it was kind of unnerving.

"It's a bit cold down here, do you mind if we head up?" I almost regretted saying it but I knew if I stayed here like this that I'd probably do something totally asinine like, oh I don't know, reach up to stroke his hair.

He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around me. Making our way up to my floor I snuggled, hopefully discretely, into the collar of his jacket, because it smelled _amazing. _He'd let go of my hand but instead his arm was wrapped around my shoulders again, similar to this afternoon. Except now I was much happier. We finally came to my door and I reached around for my key, nervous about what I was about to say.

_Just say it for Gods sake; he obviously isn't _disgusted _by your company._

"Wouldyouliketocomeinforacupofcoffee?" I waited for the inevitable 'no'.

"You want to invite me in for coffee? Did I get that right?"

"Uh, yes." My head ducked down and I fiddled with the hem of his jacket.

"I'd love to." His finger pulled my chin up to make our faces level and I gulped audibly.

_Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale._

We were sitting down on my leather sofa and once Edward had made sense of my coffee machine I began to relax, after laughing at him of course.

"Can I ask you something?" His voice had taken on a serious tone compared to the easy conversation of a couple of minutes ago.

"Sure, go for it."

"Why do you wear those sunglasses _all_ the time?" Oh shit, not _that._

"Do you even know what ones these are?" I tried to make a joke out of something that I didn't really want to delve into.

"No." I could tell he was struggling to keep a straight face.

"Edward, these are Ray Ban Jackie Ohh's in tortoiseshell. I can't believe you didn't know that." I put my hand against my head dramatically and feigned exasperation.

I could tell that when his laughter died down he'd actually want an explanation.

_Time's up Swan, having a friend was fun while it lasted._

"I wear them because I don't want people to see my eyes. They're horrible." Please don't make me show you.

"Why, Bella it can't be that bad. Come on, show me."

Fuck.

"I don't really -"

"Please, please Bella." Not _fair_. Saying no would be like kicking a puppy.

"Ok promise me you won't laugh or run away, it's not very nice."

"I promise I won't laugh and I would _never_ run away from you." His hands came up to the sides of my face and removed my glasses. My eyes were shut because I didn't want to show him.

"Open your eyes Bella." And I did after a minute of trying to calm myself. I mentally winced in preparation for whatever reaction I was going to get. His hands were still on my face and I tried my damnedest to keep my breathing even. The surface of my face was tingling all over and the bursting feeling in my chest had returned.

Well he hadn't screamed yet, or done anything to make me regret showing him. His hands moved down my arms to hold my hands and I seriously thought I was in danger of hyperventilating.

"They're not horrible." I shook my head in disagreement.

"Yes they are, it's not normal and it's beyond weird."

"Just because they're different doesn't mean that's a bad thing. You're still beautiful."

"How many girls do you know with permanently bloodshot and black eyes Edward? How can something like that _ever _be fucking beautiful? It's _disgusting._"

"Well maybe you don't think so, which is bullshit by the way, but I _do. _And don't you dare tell me I'm wrong."

I remained silent.

"Are they like that because of the accident?" My head shot up in surprise.

"How do you know about -?"

"I asked and Carlisle told me. He said it was important that I know, seeing as it would probably come up at some point and you wouldn't want to talk about it. Is that ok?"

At least he was being honest.

"I don't mind." I mumbled.

The second time I'd woken up after surgery one of the nurses screamed when she saw my eyes. I'd asked the doctor to tell me what they looked like but he wanted to tell me when I was more aware. Nurse Screamer was more than willing to tell me about what I was stuck with.

Edward just couldn't understand. I didn't blame him. Who am I to force this onto someone? It's not something people should have to see. I didn't want it to be something that put people off while I was working, and so far I'd had no problems wearing the glasses all the time.

I'd never shown anyone my eyes, other than Charlie, not even Esme and Carlisle, even though they'd told me it wouldn't matter. I didn't know why I was so able to show Edward of all people.

"You have brown eyes don't you?"

"I _used _to have brown eyes. Now they're just hideous."

"I don't think so. Beautiful remember?" His left hand moved to my face and I felt his thumb on my cheek. I gasped in surprise.

"Well you would say that wouldn't you?" I was being childish and I knew it.

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." His voice was a whisper now and I felt my heart race because I knew he'd moved his face closer.

I was nervous all over again, because I didn't know what to do. What would Edward want? What did all men want? I couldn't have sex with him; I hadn't even kissed a man or ever gone on as much as one date_._

Wait, he probably doesn't even _want_ to kiss me, he probably has a girlfriend and is too nice to say anything to me because I practically drool over him. But why would I drool over my friend? Why would I drool over my _boss_? That's not right is it?

But I wanted to be Edward's friend, but I liked it when he held my hand as well. Is that what friend's do? I wouldn't know, I could honestly say I'd never had one.

"Are you still my friend?" The question came out before I'd managed to think it through and I felt like an idiot.

He pulled back sharply and questioned me when he exhaled the breath he'd been holding. He stayed quiet for a few minutes and I knew I'd said the wrong thing again. Maybe it was a mistake showing him my eyes; maybe he wouldn't understand and was saying those things out of pity, although I secretly hoped he was telling the truth. The warmth that spread through me every time he touched me multiplied when he called me 'beautiful'.

"I'm sorry, Edward, this is all new to me, you worry about saying the wrong thing, well, so do I. Did I do something wrong?"

"No Bella, you didn't do anything wrong. I promise to try and be good for you, as your friend." His voice sounded disappointed and sad, but I put it down to him being tired. Meanwhile I was beaming, and taking caution to the wind; I lifted my hands to his shoulders and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into a deep hug.

My legs ended up lying across his lap and it would have been easier to straddle his thighs, but of course that would have been highly inappropriate, and no doubt would have made Edward uncomfortable. I could feel his hair underneath my fingers and played with the ends subconsciously.

How can a man's hair be so soft? I can't believe how good it feels in my hands.

My dwindling sense of reason interrupted me and when I realised what I was doing I pushed my hands away gently and left them wrapped around his shoulders.

I felt rather than saw his smile and it made me happy knowing that I could do that. Friends are supposed to make each other happy and I seemed to be doing okay so far.

That night I slept well, but woke up around three dazed and confused from a particularly hectic dream.

_I was back__ by the river enjoying the view. I was feeling lonely and looked wistfully around across the water and by the beautiful trees. I turned to the previously empty seat on my right and saw Edward had appeared to me. I opened my eyes and he bent down to kiss each of my eyelids. _

_In the dream, I could see.__ I saw everything. The riverbank was exactly the same as it always was, but Edward was bathed in an ethereal light. I could do nothing but stare in wonder; it was like being in the presence of an angel._

"_Do you like what you see Bella?" I gazed up at him and smiled, he was so beautiful. But that wasn't the most important thing. In my dream I was a normal girl and he was here with me because he wanted to be. Not because he felt obligated._

_I nodded my head and took a step towards him. _

"_You have to be fair Bella; I've given you my eyes, now you have to give me something in return."_

"_Anything." I muttered._

"_I'll remember that.__ I can't be good for you if you don't give me something." His voice was soft and I wanted to reach out and touch his lips, to see if they were soft like mine. _

"_What do you want?" _

_His head bent down towards mine and I thought he was going to kiss me. I moved my head towards his and parted my lips slightly. My heart was racing and my lips tingled in anticipation._

"_No Bella, when you're ready. You have to wake up now." He disappeared as quickly as he came and I was left with a feeling of emptiness. _

I woke up in a sweat gasping. I swept my hand across my brow trying to work out what the fuck that meant. Realization came to me like a fluttering in my heart.

I was undeniably attracted to my boss, and I had no idea what to do about it.

**Please let me know what you think my dears. I've missed you all terribly.**

**Aurora x**


	11. Revelations

**Thank you**** so much for all the wonderful reviews I got for the last chapter, it was wonderful to hear all your thoughts and comments and I'm glad you're all mostly happy. **

**And thank you for topping 200. I love you all. **

**I've had a lot of people asking about an EPOV for this story. As much as I want to write one at the moment, I think it would give away to much at this point in the story. Maybe when I get to around Chapter 20 it will be possible and at that time I will ask you to vote for which chapters you want to read in EPOV.**

**Sorry about late update. Basically last minute flight + hotel with broken internet connection = update disaster. I'm kind of sick of flying around now, but good news; I'm home until 14****th**** June, so you'll get another chapter before then. **

**One more thing, the dream in the previous chapter was inspired by SarahxEmmett's review from chapter 9. I forgot to mention that, sorry. **

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all **__**belong to Aurora, copyright June 2010. **_

_Last time…_

_I woke up in a sweat gasping. I swept my hand across my brow trying to work out what the fuck that meant. Realization came to me like a fluttering in my heart._

_I was undeniably attracted to my boss, and I had no idea what to do about it. _

**Chapter 11 – Revelations**

In light of my aforementioned 'revelation' I decided, to spend a large portion of my Sunday morning/afternoon in my large living room with my yoga mat. Angela of course dropped Sheila off at eleven o'clock sharp so I told her to make reservations at whatever restaurant she wanted for next week. It was my way of saying 'thank you' for looking after my girl. It wasn't that Sheila was any trouble; I knew she wouldn't have torn into the furniture or attacked the girl. But she was still a _bloody great big dog. _

I really had missed my big furry friend, and not just because I relied upon her to get around. Dogs are great company for someone who lives on their own. Unfortunately she wasn't great company when I was, ironically, trying to hold a 'downward dog'. As well as forcing my body into places it just didn't want to go, she felt it important to lick my face and bump into me at any given moment. I guess it was her way of saying she missed me. Sweet, really.

Of course, at the time, it didn't seem like such a bad idea. I'd barely thought about _him _all day and focused solely on enjoying the energetic release yoga always granted me. I was so bloody relaxed that I slept as soundly as ever and in my dreamlike state, I decided to commit every Sunday to contorting my body into ridiculous positions for hours. The problem of course came, when I tried to move this morning.

Sheila had no problem and show off that she was, spent the entire time that I was fumbling around, sitting by the front door, giving the occasional bark, to _remind _me I was late.

I _knew_ I was running late but I just couldn't physically force my body to run around like a madwomen getting ready as I usually did. I was so late, that my phone started ringing and then Jacob came up to my door, to see why I wasn't ready yet. He found it, quite frankly, hilarious that I was '_just aching from something that requires only deep breathing'_ and wasn't unconscious as he'd thought.

Adding to that, the traffic ridden car journey this morning only made me feel grouchier; even my morning coffee didn't do anything today. I ended up getting into my office at almost a quarter to seven, over an hour later than usual. I prayed to whatever God there was that Edward had overslept or wasn't in yet. That would be awfully embarrassing, considering how I'd made him practically recite the times he _should _be in each morning.

As I walked down the hall as quietly as possible I managed to reach my office without any interruptions and let out a huge sigh when I was all settled in. My relief soon dissipated when I remembered why I'd, ironically, tried to get in early. The enormous mass of emails I'd neglected to answer Friday afternoon had been left until Sunday. Unfortunately, Sunday was spent doing yoga. I now had almost three days worth of emails to answer, a number that would surely be several hundred.

I mean, I understand the need for email, and the concept is quite genius really. But when I get up to _two hundred a day, _I just wish people would come and talk to me if they have a problem.

My phone started to ring and it took me a minute to realise what the annoying sound was. Nobody was in this early. It wasn't Edward because he'd come and talk to me and Angela didn't come in until ten. Apprehensively I answered the call and was even more confused when I heard Rosalie's voice on the other end.

"Hello."

"Oh Bella, thank god. I'm bored out of my mind and you are the only person I know who'll be awake at this time of the morning. I need someone to talk to." I'd spoken to Rosalie few times but it was still a strange experience talking to her. Sometimes she was cold and brief with her answers and other times, she literally wouldn't want to stop talking.

"Rosalie I'm not being rude but…is there any reason why you're calling me?" I figured a careful approach was the safest.

"Oh yeah, well you see, my pig of a boss went along with the idea for a spiritual take on autumn this year for the magazine. Now _that _I don't have a problem with, get this though, we had to be in at _six am_ because the photographer said that the light at that time of day would give the models an _angelic appearance. _Bullshit! So now I'm tired and grouchy and I can't find a fucking cup of coffee _anywhere."_

"Jeez you sound like me on a bad day."

"Tell me about it, at least you don't have to wear a headdress and a latex thong to work."

I love _my job _so much.

"Seriously?"

"Oh yeah. And get this, this week we have a new bunch of pervy prop organisers on set who give me the creeps. I think I even saw one of the guys drooling the other day, I mean really, what is _wrong _with people?"

I am so glad I don't have to worry about _that._ Yuck.

You know what? I can't wait until we go shopping next weekend, because then I can wear something remotely normal."

Hold the phone…

"Shopping?

"Yeah, didn't I tell you? Well, we're going, Saturday ok?"

Oh no, no, no.

"You didn't mention shopping, I mean, don't you, as the personal shopper, take care of the _shopping_ part?"

"Yeah, but we're still going. Anyway that's not the point. Tell me all about _Edward._ Or does he make you call him _Mr Cullen_? That'd be hot."

"Rosalie, I can't talk about _that _at _work_. There are people around."

"Oh does that mean that there _is something_ to talk about?"

"No, I didn't mean that. But if there _were _something to talk about then it would not be convenient to talk about it _here._"

"You have an office don't you?"

"Yes." I could tell I was fighting a losing battle but I wasn't ready to admit defeat.

"And you keep your door closed I'm guessing?"

"Not always, but it is now."

"So what's the problem?

"It's still inappropriate."

"Stop it Bella! You wouldn't be feeding me this horseshit if there was nothing. Now come on, tell me if I have months and months of date outfits to plan or not."

"I don't know about _date _outfits, but I might need some _friend_ outfits, just in case Edward wants to go somewhere. I don't really have that many weekend clothes."

Silence…maybe she hung up.

I heard a peel of laughter from the other end of the phone and counted myself not so lucky.

"Oh Bella, that's funny."

"What?"

"You…*giggle* and Edward…*giggle*…friends."

"I don't understand."

"That much is obvious."

"Wha-"

"Bella, men and women can't be friends."

Now who's talking horseshit?

"Of course they can, that's ridiculous. I have male friends."

From the sound of her voice, it seemed that she was leaning back in her chair and probably had a smug look on her face.

"Really? Who?"

"I'm friends with Carlisle."

"Doesn't count, he's married. Do you have any single _male _friends?"

I didn't think about the answer before I gave it.

"Edward."

"Well there you go, you proved my point."

"Rosalie, you're not making any sense, Edward _is _my friend."

"But he doesn't want to be."

How can she make presumptions about the friendship Edward and I have? That's outrageous.

"He does, he told me he did."

"No Bella, you're not getting me here. Edward doesn't want to be _just a friend _to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that a single man spending time with a single woman is interested in _more than friendship."_

"How do you know?"

"Believe me Bella, I just do."

I didn't want to think about this more than was necessary, because it only succeeded in making me confused.

"Look, I'm just glad that I get to spend time with Edward. He's the best friend I've ever had." My mind wandered to our conversations and the feeling of him holding my hand. I smiled to myself and my hands tingled at the memory of his fingers entwined in mine.

"Bella do you _like_ Edward?"

I wasn't going to pretend I didn't hear the intonation in her voice, but my feelings for Edward weren't something I was ready to talk about just yet.

"You know Rosalie, I should be getting back to work, and I've got a ton of things to sort through today."

I heard her laughter again on the phone.

"I'll take that as a yes then, alright Bella, enough for now but Saturday I'm not letting you off easy."

"Fine."

"Enjoy your day Bella."

"See you Saturday."

We said goodbye and for the next few hours I spent my time sorting through emails and thinking about my feelings for Edward. I was exhausted at the end of it and starving. I thought about going down to the café on the ground floor that Carlisle had always raved about. In response to my train of thought my stomach started rumbling uncomfortably. Sheila responded with a whine.

I swear I'd spoken to everyone within three floors of my office this morning. After sorting though emails I'd had to take two conference calls with the team to discuss issues with the New York office.

_But where was Edward?_

I had no right to call him asking where he was, I wasn't his babysitter. He wasn't late for any meetings I was sitting in on and I had to remember that he was involved in supporting projects other than mine. It didn't matter that mine was the headliner.

Sitting on the sofa in my office, with Sheila's head at my feet, I thought about how to ask Angela when he was expected in. I paged her and hoped that he was on his way.

"Morning Angela."

"Afternoon Bella, it's almost half past one."

No wonder I'm hungry.

"Oh, right. Listen, there's something I need to discuss with Edward, do you know what time he's coming in?"

"He's due any minute, his lunch conference finished at one, but knowing traffic at this time of day, he might not be in until two. Is it urgent?"

I'd barely been able to think about anything but him this morning. The need and urge to be near him certainly felt like burning in my chest.

"No worries. It can wait. Thanks Angela, are you off to lunch now?"

"Yeah, do you want anything? I can send someone up with something." Again my stomach grumbled embarrassingly loud at the mention of food. It wasn't as if I was intentionally not eating, I'd just been busy as hell this morning.

Thirty minutes later and now I needed both fresh air and serious nourishment. I was soon in the lift and out into the foyer when I heard that familiar voice call out to me. Even Sheila seemed to sense my anticipation because I felt a slight strain on the lead.

I stood still, not quite able to judge what side he was coming from.

Feeling, unmistakeably, his hand on my arm my face relaxed into a smile.

"Where are you off to?" His fingers on my arm which were rubbing slowly were extremely distracting.

"Lunch, I have to, I mean I'm hungry, so I'm getting lunch." Stammered and hesitant wasn't my usual register but so far everything about Edward had me acting strangely.

"Allow me. I already got you something. Do you want to go out and sit somewhere, just for a bit?"

_I don't care for how long or where if I'm with you. _

My passing thought was strangely romantic but I realised that it was true, in every sense.

I nodded and he took my other arm, guiding me outside where I was hit with the soft, surprisingly warm October breeze.

"So where are we going?"

"Be patient" he replied.

"Aren't you going to tell me?"

"Nope." I tugged on his arm which only caused him to laugh.

"Don't worry Bella it's not far."

Luckily for him he wasn't wrong. Ten minutes later and one, no doubt, extortionate taxi fare and we'd arrived at some hidden gardens at the back of an old chapel.

"It's nothing like the river bank on Saturday but its quiet and nobody really knows about it."

We could have been anywhere, but all I could focus on was the arm wrapped round my waist. We sat down at a bench and he revealed the promised food. I felt his hands come up to my face and to my surprised, remove my glasses.

This time, I didn't even bother closing my eyes, because I knew he'd only ask me to open them.

"Perfect." He muttered.

Conversation became impossible as I practically gorged myself on the chicken sandwich and bits of cheese he'd given me. I think I may have even moaned when my teeth sunk into the cheesy goodness of my pieces of Manchego. I felt like a mouse, nibbling away.

I groaned again, the sandwich was very good. Somehow Junior was taking Bella 101 and passing the class with flying colours.

I laughed to myself and he wanted to know what it was.

"It's just that, you're so good at this."

"What?"

"This", I gestured to my lunch and our surroundings, "being my friend, you seem to know just what I need."

"That's because I pay attention, a _lot_."

The last part was said with an emphasis which sent a tingle right through me. I tried to keep thinking about what the rules of friendship meant, or even were. I couldn't help enjoying the fact that Edward might pay attention to me, that I might be _enough _to _draw _his attention away from other things.

Aside from his comments, I focused on his right arm leaning around the back of the bench across my shoulders. I closed my eyes and felt each of his fingers curled gently around the top of _my _right shoulder and the length of his strong, solid arm reaching across the top of my back. Being much smaller than him I was able to lean back slightly and snuggle between his arm and shoulder.

_Since when do I ever _snuggle?

Suddenly it occurred to me that I was enjoying this because I had feelings for Edward that went beyond those of friendship. But that was _me. _What if Edward didn't feel the same way? He probably didn't. I felt my body stiffen in anticipation of the rejection he would express but instead was surprised when he relaxed even further against me, pulling me in closer still.

This was nice. I mean, this was _really _nice. I imagined for a second if someone saw us as they walked by, they might think we were a couple. I was sat in what probably looked like a half embrace against him, eating a lunch provided by him. Not that they knew _that_.

Was that what I really wanted? I'd accepted my feelings for him, however awkward and strange they were, coming from someone with a complete lack of experience. This was certainly something I'd have to think about. I decided to ask Rosalie on Saturday about how friends acted around each other, even if she didn't believe in the concept. Utter nonsense really.

"If you're eyebrows weren't so screwed up I'd have said you were asleep. What's the matter?"

Now here was the thing. I'd confessed a lot to Edward, a hell of a lot. This wasn't something I could exactly talk to him about.

_Basically the first man I've ever felt remotely attracted to is also my boss, which is you by the way. What do you think? _

I couldn't even imagine that going well. I needed more time to think.

"Nothing"

"Liar" I could hear he was smiling and I was glad he wasn't offended.

"Sorry, it's just, complicated."

"So you won't tell me what's bothering you?"

"No"

"Well we're going to have to do something about that. Friends are supposed to tell each other everything. Not good Bella, not good. "

Oh no. He was upset, he didn't _sound_ upset, but he could have been. Maybe he thought because I wouldn't tell him that I didn't want to be friends. I really didn't want to give off that impression.

"You know what this means don't you?"

"What?" I replied meekly.

"You're going to have to have dinner with me Friday night. That's the punishment for not telling me."

Huh?

Keeping things from Edward was going to allow me to _spend more time _with him?

"Ok." There was no way in hell I was refusing that. I was excited already and it was only Monday.

"Why are you smiling? You're going to have to put up with me for the evening _and _eat my cooking."

I must have been a saint in a past life because this was way too good to be true.

I got to spend an evening with Edward and eat food made by those wonderful hands. Thank you Lord.

I put on my most serious face, "I guess I deserve it. I suppose there's nothing I can do; you are the boss after all."

I knew I'd have to have another conversation with Rosalie before the week was over. What was I going to wear? I'd never sounded more girly in my life.

_But you've also never been to dinner with someone like _Edward _before. _

I smiled at that. Maybe this was the start of something. What that thing _was_, I didn't know. But I liked where it was headed.

A couple of minutes of silence elapsed and since we were _kind of _already talking about work I thought I'd start with a safe topic.

"How was your morning?"

"Pretty disappointing. I slept in, which was good. Yesterday I spent the whole day going through emails and arranging meetings, so I got in a little later. Today I had to have lunch with the deputy idiots from the Mountain View legal team. I almost left when I saw that their business manager hadn't even bothered to attend. Pathetic, really"

I could tell he was a bit wound up about that so I abandoned the subject and we ended up talking for what seemed like hours about music, films, books and food. It was the lightest hearted, most care-free conversation we'd ever had and Edward had me laughing a lot more than I would have expected.

His arm stayed wrapped around me and I stayed where I was, cushioned against his chest.

_It's really quite nice here; I might just take up residence._

At one point I started to think about what we had spoken about Friday night, about who had told Carlisle. I tried to push the thought out of my head, but it still bothered me. I decided not to ask him about it today, it would only ruin the afternoon, and I didn't want Edward to have to think about it anymore.

The breeze was getting a little chillier and I mentally slapped myself for forgetting Edward's jacket he lent me Saturday.

"Shit Edward I forgot your jacket. I'm sorry. I'll bring it in tomorrow. I knew I'd forgotten something this morning."

"Don't worry about it. I don't need it. You can keep it"

"That's silly. I can't just keep something of yours, and I bet you _will _need it. It's getting cold in the mornings now. You need a jacket."

"Alright_ mom_"

"I'm serious Edward."

"Ok fine, bring it with you Friday. There, you happy?"

_Ecstatic. Q__uite literally. _

"Fine, but don't make me feel bad if you get a cold."

"I'll be fine, and I've got others, but you can return it if you really want to."

I nodded, satisfied with my small victory. I knew he could be stubborn. But then again, wasn't I the same?

"I didn't bring Renee with me. What's the time?"

"Getting bored of me already are you? I see how it is" his tone was playful and I nudged him gently.

"No, but I don't want to be late getting back."

"Just coming up to four" he sounded nonchalant and I was _sure _I must have misheard him.

But I put together the chillier breeze and the time I'd heard and realised he must have been right

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I stood up hastily and almost tripped over Sheila who had been lying at my feet. Luckily two strong arms caught me around my waist before I could make a fool of myself.

_Stop thinking about how good it feels to be pressed up against him. We need to get back to work!_

"Bella what's wrong?"

"What's _wrong_? Are you serious? Lunch breaks are _not_ meant to last three hours Edward!"

"I didn't know you were so averse to spending time with me."

"I'm not! I just don't want to be seen as slacking. I've got a job to do."

"Gee I hope the boss doesn't give you a hard time for an extended lunch" his tone was sarcastic and I didn't like it.

"Enough with the sarcasm, I just happen to take my job seriously."

"And you think I _don't?_"

"You sure don't seem to mind taking three hours for lunch."

"Quite frankly, right now, I don't give a fuck about how long my lunch break is."

"You should have told me what the time was." My voice was softer now because I was touched by the care in his harsh sounding words.

"Yeah, that's right, my fault. I'm sorry I was enjoying myself; I guess I wasn't checking my watch for the time every five minutes." It sounded like he was spitting out the words and I winced.

"I'm not saying that. I'm talking about not putting in the hours. This was probably my best lunch ever, and it had nothing to do with the food." My voice had risen and I sincerely hoped there was no-one else around to hear our conversation.

There was silence for a minute and I knew I'd said the wrong thing, I must have said too much.

"Really?" His voice was much softer now and his hands very gently gripped my waist even more.

I nodded and pulled him in for a hug. His hands moved up to my hair and stroked it softly.

"I'm sorry Bella, you're right. I just lose track of time with you." I squeezed him tighter and he kissed the top of my head. His lips lingered for a moment and I felt a shiver run through me.

I could feel the full length of his body up against me we were so close. Just as I was about to pull away I felt his lips move very slowly to my temple and press the lightest of kisses onto my skin.

I felt like jumping up and down on the spot, but I don't think my heart would be able to beat any faster. His lips on my hair felt magical. His lips on the side of my head were electrifying. I never imagined I'd be able to _feel_ so much. Those two kisses were the most intimate contact I'd ever experienced and I felt it all over my body.

I could hazard a guess as to what I'd be dreaming about tonight.

_Imagine what it'd feel like if he _really_ kissed you. _

I couldn't allow _that _train of thought to continue. I might combust internally.

"You don't have to worry about the boss getting annoyed with you. I have it on good authority that he's more than satisfied with your performance so far."

"Oh really?"

"Absolutely."

His arm moved back to the small of my back as we left the chapel gardens and Edward called for a taxi to take us back to the office.

"I know I was an ass but you do still have to have dinner with me"

"Oh is that so?"

Yeah I mean, I guess I didn't ask you. Only come if you want to."

"Silly Edward of course I do, you couldn't keep me away."

I wouldn't miss it for the world.

By some strange luck I managed to leave the office at seven o'clock Monday evening. I'd expected to stay much later, because of the amount of work I'd have to do and was glad when Jake was available to pick me up and take me home.

On Tuesday, Angela had told me she'd made reservations for us to go to dinner Wednesday evening at an Indian restaurant not too far from the office. Today was Wednesday and I was supposed to meet her there tonight at seven thirty. I hadn't been too busy today but I was trying to get a few things done so I'd be able to leave by six at the latest.

I didn't have to worry about what I'd be wearing, not for tonight anyway. I thought about putting on a cashmere jumper that Carlisle and Esme had gotten me a few years ago over black trousers. That would have to do. Obviously I'd make more of an effort on Friday.

Friday night. Sigh. That meant dinner with Edward.

In retrospect I was glad we'd been able to have lunch on Monday, even though I had been feeling incredibly guilty about it. Since then we'd both been pretty busy and I'd barely had any time to talk to him.

I suppose being busy was a good thing though, it kept my mind off of _him._

Unfortunately, that never lasted very long.

Leaving the office at five thirty today was an achievement in my opinion, although it did mean I didn't really feel up to going out to dinner because I was pretty tired. I forced myself to quickly ignore that feeling.

Angela had looked after Sheila for the weekend and I was grateful, this was no time to be selfish.

In the car home my thoughts, as they often did, turned quickly to Edward and I didn't hear what Jake was asking me. I hadn't had a chance to talk to him after Monday morning; people started calling me as soon as I got in the car to work.

Embarrassed, I asked him to repeat himself.

"Sorry, I was miles away. What did you say?"

"I was just asking whether you'd had any more problems with Cullen. Guys like him think because they're rich that it's okay to treat people like shit."

As soon as he finished talking, something clicked. On Monday it had crossed my mind to ask Edward about who he thought had told Carlisle. Now I was frightened that I knew exactly who it was.

"Jake what are you talking about?"

"Bella, I know what he did to you. Assault is never okay; don't let him get away with anything because he's your boss."

There was that word again. _Assault. _The same word that _Carlisle _hadused.

"You're the one who told Carlisle?" I gasped incredulously.

"I had to." He didn't seem surprised by my knowledge.

"Jacob, it was nothing. You're making it sound like much more than it was."

"If it was nothing then why were you crying all the way home?"

"You saw that?"

"No shit."

Oh God. It was Jake, it must have been.

"You told Carlisle. Did you tell anyone else?"

"No."

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused? You really got this all wrong."

"Trouble is something you've got to learn to associate with Cullen, not me."

My feelings were a mixture of sadness and anger. Edward had gotten into an argument with his father because of _me. _The last thing in the world I wanted to be was trouble. I hung my head in my hands and tried to think of what to say.

"His name is Edward and trouble is the last thing in the world that he is. He's done nothing wrong, so please, there's nothing to worry about. I'm actually very happy to be working with him."

"And I'm sure he's _very happy _to be working with you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, I've seen the way he looks at you."

_I wish I had_.

"Sorry I'm still not following you Jake."

"He's all possessive over you. Like he owns you or something, that man watches you like a hawk."

Well that sure made me smile. If I could see Edward, I'd never take my eyes off of him. I never want him to let go of me when he holds me.

"Why are you smiling? Bella, that isn't a good thing, you don't want that."

Yes it is! For me, it's the very best thing.

I didn't think about what I was saying before I opened my mouth.

"Maybe that's _exactly_ what I want."

The car jolted slightly as Jake pulled up at the traffic lights and he spun round in shock.

"What the fuck! No, Bella, it isn't. You have no idea because you haven't known him very long. You don't know what he's like."

"Aside from being my boss, Edward is a good friend of mine. You shouldn't speak about him like that_._"

His tone was sarcastic and rude, he had no tact. He didn't speak to care about what he said about people, even his own boss.

"He doesn't want to be though, he'll want more. Bella, Edward isn't _friends _with women; he's not the kind of guy that keeps a woman around for the conversation."

He didn't have to elaborate. I knew what he was referring to. I decided it didn't matter. Edward could have slept with half the women in the city and it wouldn't make a difference. He was _my friend. _And he was special to _me. _It was nice knowing that I didn't give a fuck about his reputation.

"Well he doesn't treat _me _like that."

"In the end it's obviously what he wants. Give it some time, he'll show his true colours."

Enough was enough. I didn't want to talk to Jake anymore. I wanted to go home and go to bed. I just couldn't _stand _him talking about Edward like that, as if he was nothing, like he didn't _care about me. _And I knew for a fact that he did.

We pulled to a stop and I knew from the amount of time we'd been in the car that we'd arrived outside my building. I didn't wait for Jacob to open my door as per usual. I let Sheila out the door and made my way up to my apartment.

I heard him calling after me, but I just couldn't find it in me to give a damn.

Fuck you Jacob.

Angela knew there was something not quite right at dinner. I think it was more than fucking obvious. I tried my best to be nice and social regardless.

I was quiet but tried to make light conversation. I happily allowed her to tell me all about her childhood and schooldays. She was the eldest child and had two brothers who were still at school. Her father worked in the church in the neighbourhood she had grown in and her mother was a primary school teacher.

Listening to her talk about her childhood was oddly refreshing and sounded idyllic. I thought back to the multitude of jobs Renee had tried to stick to and almost laughed at the thought of her holding down a career for life like Angela's parents. It just wasn't the same.

Apparently she always had been fairly shy and reserved, but from the amount of talking she did, I could tell her confidence was just lying dormant. I tried to imitate some of the conversations I'd had with Rosalie, but I wasn't really familiar with girl talk.

Inevitably in a conversation between two women the focus turned to that of men. Luckily, my part on that topic was extremely non-existent, and once again, I was happy to let her take over.

She told me she'd had a couple of admirers and one boyfriend at university but I could tell there was someone else. Maybe I recognised in her, the same part of me that always wanted to talk and think about Edward. There was no escaping it.

I knew she was familiar with most of my team and frankly, other than their intellect, they didn't hold many other skills. I doubted it was anyone I knew of in my part of the office. Poor girl, I hoped there was someone around there she could talk to, even if it was just a friend. I asked her about that and she mentioned meeting Ben Cheney last week and I detected a small smile in her voice.

So maybe there was potential in the office for Angela after all.

Thinking about it, he had been up to our floor an awful lot last week to check that my computer was working ok. I never remembered reporting any problems. I'd even heard him talking to Edward a couple of times about updating his software.

_And who is between yours and Edwards offices?_

Angela's desk.

Bingo.

When I got home I had one message on the answering machine. It was from Edward.

_Hey Bella I know it's late but I just wanted to make sure you got home okay and had a nice time tonight. I'm sorry I haven't been around so much but I just wanted to say that I'm really looking forward to Friday; I hope you can still come. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, or Friday, you know, um, anyway, __goodnight Bella. Sweet dreams._

Sweet dreams indeed Mr Cullen.

I couldn't help but smile as I lay down in my bed, pulling my duvet up to my chin. Tomorrow would be Thursday and the day after Thursday is Friday, and Friday means dinner with Edward.

Edward who watches me all the time, who brings me lunch and sits with me for hours, Edward who makes me feel happier than I ever knew and Edward who _might _be my first kiss.

I now knew that I wanted to be more than friends with him. What I was feeling for Edward was beyond foreign, and it was the strangest mix of emotions imaginable.

But it was the very sweetest kind of happiness.

Friday night couldn't come soon enough.

**Questions / suggestions and comments are always welcome**** because I would love to know what you thought. See you soon, next will be Bella's dinner with Edward. **


	12. I'd Rather Be With You

**I apologise for late update, I blame a rare case of jet lag. I'm kind of sick of planes at the moment. **

**Just to clear things up, the 'assault' is when Edward drags Bella from her lunch**** with Aro and they argue. The chapter is 'Lunch', it's technically not an assault but that's how Jacob wants to see it. Bad dog. **

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all **__**belong to Aurora, copyright June 2010.**_

_Last time…_

_I now knew that I wanted to be more than friends with him. What I was feeling for Edward was beyond foreign, and it was the strangest mix of emotions imaginable._

_But it was the very sweetest kind of happiness. _

_Friday night couldn't come soon enough._

**Chapter 12 – I'd Rather Be With You**

Pacing around my apartment clearly wasn't going to help my nerves. Not one bit. I ran my hands down the tops of my legs, feeling the tight material of my jeans clinging to them. My hands travelled up further and I smiled at the soft feeling of the silk blouse, at least Rosalie picked something comfortable.

She arrived yesterday at four o'clock and left the clothes that I had to wear to dinner tonight outside my office. Thankfully she agreed with me that wearing four inch heels for the first time tonight would not be sensible, so I was in soft suede ballet pumps. I ran my toes over the tops of them and thought it felt similar to velvet. It was a wonderful feeling.

Unfortunately, she couldn't accept the possibility of me wearing _my own _jeans, so I had to have new ones. Apparently mine were too baggy, but _these, _they felt like a second skin, but not too tight. My shirts were also unsuitable for dinner, but I was more than happy with what I had on. Colour wasn't really a problem, or a worry for me, but Rosalie assured me, that this _particular shade of green, _like the blue dress I wore, was very appealing. She seemed sure that Edward would love it.

I felt happy knowing that by Rosalie's model standards I would be looking nice. It wasn't as if I'd spent hours preening and flustered about tonight, even though it'd been on my mind all week.

Another thing I'd been thinking about was Jacob. Dickhead. I mean seriously, on what level could grabbing my arm and a few harsh words be considered assault? How ridiculous. It was obvious Jacob had made much more out of what had happened because I was crying, and exaggerated when he told Carlisle. Part of me was convinced there was something vindictive and calculating in Jacob's telling Carlisle. I'd have to ask him some time.

I felt guilty not having told Edward already but I didn't want to him to be distracted at work and even though it wasn't pleasant, I decided that tonight would probably be best. He'd be upset, obviously but it was better than being paranoid and not knowing who to trust. Of course I didn't know if Edward was feeling that way, but I thought that's how I'd feel if I were betrayed by one of my staff. It wasn't as if Jacob was a friend of his.

Gah! Why on Earth am I so fidgety? I was pacing again but I knew that my nerves weren't because I was frightened, it was more like excitement. I knew this wasn't a date, I mean it _definitely wasn't _a date, but it was proof. It was my proof that he wanted to spend more time with me. We weren't at work, we weren't going to be discussing work problems and it wasn't out of pity.

That thought on its own made me feel much more at ease. I stood still and Sheila came to sit by my feet. I'd decided to leave her at the apartment for tonight; she'd be fine on her own. I tucked my key into the back pocket of my jeans and went to pick up my phone from where I knew I'd left it on the top of the kitchen table. I paused for a moment and realised that I didn't need it. The only person whose call I really looked forward to was Edward's, but I needn't worry because I would be spending the night with him.

I mean not _spending the night, _thinking about it like that made it sound like we were so much _more _than friends.

It sounded wonderful.

I let my mind wander for a moment and thought about what _spending the night_ would entail. In my mind I skipped over the more intimate details and events that I believed would be involved. I imagined what would happen afterwards, I would wake up and _Edward _would be beside me. I could roll over and instead of empty cold sheets; I'd meet his warm, hard chest. His arms would open up to me and he would hold me and talk to me in the soft voice he had when it was just the two of us. A shiver of pleasure ran through me thinking about all of that. It was a nice thing to wish for.

I was about to ask Renee what the time was for the tenth time in as many minutes when there was a knock at the door. As I opened my door slowly I was greeted by my favourite sound.

His voice.

"Sorry, I couldn't wait." A smile spread across my face that'd probably give the Cheshire cat a run for his money. I was practically bouncing up and down on the floor and my chest felt like it was going to burst. Gently, as always, he took my hand in his and led me down the corridor.

I squeezed his hand in response, "neither could I."

He guided me slowly, almost too slowly, through the corridors until we'd obviously reached his door. Before I knew what was going on he scooped me up, carried me through the door and set me down somewhere inside.

"Is there any reason why I couldn't walk through the door?"

"No, not really" His voice had the trace of a smile and for some reason, I was blushing, what a surprise.

"So, do I get a tour, or are you going to tie me to a chair for dinner?"

"I don't know, now you mention it, tying you to a chair does sound good." My jaw dropped so quickly it was almost painful. A shiver of pleasure ran through me but I had no idea why. Why would I want Edward to tie me up?

_Face it, he could read the phone book and you'd get excited. _

True, very true.

His hands moved over my arms in a comforting gesture but I was still thinking about what he'd said.

"Don't worry beautiful, I'd never hurt you. So how about that tour?" I felt myself physically relax, especially when he stood behind me, grasped my hips and guided me around the front room. Suddenly he stopped and I jumped when I felt his hands on my feet, removing my shoes.

"Edward, what the hell -"

"You told me you're barefoot all the time at home so you know where you're going. Now you can learn your way around my place."

"Thank you Edward."

"No, thank _you._ I'm being totally selfish here, this way you can spend more time here with me."

Well that sure sounded _good. _

"What makes you think I want to spend more time here?" I couldn't keep the smile out of my voice, but especially when he pulled me in close to whisper in my ear. "I don't know but I think I might be able to convince you. I could make your time here with me very…_appealing_ – and besides I really, _really _like having you here with me. I hope the feeling's mutual."

I held his hand under my own and stroked the length of his fingers. "You know it is."

His words affected me in so many ways, they were sweet and tender, but there was an edge of something even more promising. I wanted more.

I felt the surface of the floor change from the tiles in what I presumed to be the kitchen to much smoother tiles as we moved around the apartment.

"I'm sorry, I need to go and check on something. Can you just wait here for a second?" I nodded in agreement but as soon as I heard his footsteps move away, curiosity got the better of me. I felt wood panelling, like a doorframe so I moved a couple of steps through and felt the floor change yet again to a soft carpet. It felt like I was walking on feathers.

I was moving slowly as it was because I really didn't want to fall over anything and draw attention to myself. But that didn't stop me from banging my knee on something hard, causing me to fall forward. I landed, not on the floor or a table as I'd expected, but on a _bed. _Oh God, the first room I'd chosen to walk into just _happened _to be a bedroom.

_Please let it be the guest room. _

Whoever the room belonged to, they had a great bed. I rolled around trying to find the edge so I'd be able to get up again and not let Edward find me in here. I wasn't supposed to be snooping around. Unfortunately I just wasn't fast enough because I heard a low chuckling from somewhere.

Oh shit.

"I leave you alone for a minute and you're in my bed."

Oh shitting hell. Could I look like more of an idiot?

"Edward I am so, so _sorry _I was just walking around, I had no idea that was your room."

"Please, don't apologize. Anytime you feel like climbing in my bed, you just go ahead and jump in." I almost choked as I gasped, did he just say what I _thought _he said?

"Uh ok. Maybe it'd be better if you just showed me where the toilet is and we'll leave the 'tour' at that."

"Alright whatever you say Bella."

_K__eep breathing and don't even think about jumping into that bed again!_

I sat down and spread my hands over the soft leather sofa I'd been assigned to. I remembered that as soon as I walked in, I was assaulted by the most wonderful smells, it was an olfactory paradise. I could discern that we were having some kind of pasta with tomato, but that was as far as it went.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"Not a chance." Soon after he appeared at my side to lead me to the table, I noticed that he smelled a little like cheese and it made me smile.

It turned out that the smells didn't do the meal justice. A couple of times I failed to hold back my moans of pleasure from the taste. I blushed fiercely and tried to cover my face with my napkin.

"Don't ever do that."

"What?"

"Don't hide yourself from me you're so-… I should have told you earlier, I wanted to."

I blushed but was intrigued as to what he was holding back from me.

"Tell me."

"You look very _lovely_ tonight."

I was used to being called beautiful now, not that it didn't make my insides gooey every time he said it, but _lovely, _that made me feel special, unique.

"Well, apart from when I blush."

"Especially when you blush"

The next few minutes were silent in the enjoyment of our meal, which was _amazing_. A wave of guilt overtook me as I prattled on about some audio book I asked him about and again we lapsed into silence.

_You have to get it out sometime soon, so get it over with!_

"It was Jacob." Good, nice and articulate.

"What?"

"Jacob was the one who spoke to Carlisle about that _thing_, and I -"

"I know."

"_You knew?"_

"Bella, something like that, I couldn't just leave it alone. I had to find out whether somebody was spying on me or you for that matter. I didn't want to leave the possibility open for someone to hurt you."

"Oh."

"I was almost relieved when it was only _him,_ because that means that the company is protected, what with him being an employee, but -"

"What is it Edward?"

"I'm sure Mr Black said some rather _cutting_ things, he doesn't have a very high opinion of me. I'm surprised you didn't cancel."

I scoffed in astonishment. As if! "You really think I care that much about his opinion of you? Whatever it is, whatever he says, true or not I don't care. It doesn't matter."

"Perhaps the more you find out, the less you'll think that."

"Bullshit, Edward you told me yourself you're different. I believe in you which also means I _trust _you, so when I say it doesn't matter, I mean it."

"Silly Jacob Black underestimated you didn't he?"

"Why do you say that?"

"He doesn't want us to be friends. He wants you for himself, he probably thinks you're fickle by trying to badmouth me and sour your opinion of me, but I know better."

_Jacob _wants _me? _Eww.

"I don't think he feels that way Edward."

"Oh I think so; you don't know how captivating you are Bella. A dog like him probably couldn't resist taking a snap at something he wanted." His words were softer now and even though we were talking about Jake, I leaned in, wanting to hear more of that beautiful voice, drawing me in.

His finger reached out and traced my cheekbone and stroked gently down my jaw line. The tingling in my chest spread down to the tips of my fingers and toes, it was such a strange feeling. Something I'd never felt before. I wanted to hold his hand to my face and relish in the feeling of it, but that probably wouldn't be ok.

The rest of dinner continued in silence, apart from my gasping breaths at the feel of him. I loved the feeling but the want to listen to the sound of his voice was greater.

His fingers continued their circling on my face and aside from regular breathing becoming a difficulty; I was dying to say something. The silence was killing me. He beat me to it and the understood action was that we would continue eating and normal conversation, sans awkward moments.

"Dinner was absolutely delicious Edward, thank you."

"From the sounds of it, you enjoyed it _very _much." I knew he was only teasing but smacked his chest anyway, although not too hard.

"You're right. I did."

He bent his head down to my ear and whispered "just you wait until dessert." My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I had to ask him to repeat the next thing he said.

"What's that?"

_Sorry, you just dazzle me, quite literally. _

He spoke as he pulled me to my feet, "Would you like to dance with me?"

Oh shit. Way to ruin an evening.

"Uh Edward, I can't dance."

"Silly Bella, of course you can." He let go of me and moments later the sounds of an acoustic guitar filled the room. I recognised the song immediately; Joshua Radin was a recent discovery of mine and I loved his voice and lyrics.

_Sitting here, on this lonely dock, _

_Watch the rain play on the ocean top,_

"I'm serious, I really can't dance. I'll tread on your feet and you'll have bruises and you won't be able to walk without a limp and it'll be a big mist -"

_All the things I feel I need to say  
I can't explain in any other way_

Suddenly he pulled me into his arms with his hand at the small of my back and clasped my left hand in his right. Before I realised it we were swaying from side to side and the hand on my back was moving in slow circles and decreasing my ability to move my feet.

"See you're dancing." He twirled me around and by some divine intervention, I managed to stay upright. He pulled me back into his chest so that my back was to his front.

_I need to be bold  
Need to jump in the cold water  
Need to grow older with a girl like you  
Finally see you are naturally  
The one to make it so easy  
When you show me the truth  
Yeah, I'd rather be with you  
Say you want the same thing too_

I had never _ever _danced with a man before, but dancing, ok _swaying _with Edward was nothing short of fantastic. His touches at the moment were fairly innocent but I felt them everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Each time his fingers traced my own the feeling went straight through me but was most concentrated between my legs. I wanted to let my head hang back on his shoulder and say to hell with modesty.

_Harlot!_

I just couldn't believe he could make me feel all this, everything at the same time, I would have no idea how to drive him as crazy as he did me. Unless blushing was a real turn on, which I highly doubted.

His arms around me, the feeling of it, was exciting, thrilling, electric, but also extremely peaceful. It was as if I fitted there. The sound of the soft music and our bodies swaying together was music on its own. Such beautiful music.

_Yeah, I'd rather be with you  
Say you want the same thing too  
Say you feel the way I do_

The special moment was interrupted by my own insecurities. Was this as unique to him as it was to _me? _We continued swaying and I hated to ruin the perfect serenity of the silence but I just _had_ to say something.

"Edward." At this point I could feel his breath on my neck and his lips in my hair. The area between my legs started to throb, and in a _good _way. It was almost impossible to articulate what I wanted to say and I knew, in order to concentrate I had to take a step back. I moved away a few paces and immediately felt the loss of feeling him.

"Bel -"

"Wait I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Do you have other girl friends like me? I know it's a stupid question, I mean, you probably do this all the time, invite women over, wine and dine them, but I was just wondering."

He didn't answer immediately and I started wringing my hands, there was a distinct possibility that he did indeed have a lot of _female friends_, who weren't girlfriends. A wave of sadness came over me at the thought that I wasn't the only one. And why should I be? What on earth was special about _me_? This whole _relationship _between us probably mattered an awful lot more to me than to him. It wasn't as if I had anyone else, any other _male_ friends, as Rosalie pointed out.

I felt my eyes start to well up and I had no idea why I was getting so emotional. I had to turn away and tried rub the moisture out of my eyes. Two hands came down on my shoulders and turned me around.

"Are you seriously worried about that? Christ Bella Have I not made it clear?" When he put it like that, I sounded stupid and immature. What right have I got to be _jealous? _He's my boss; of _course _he doesn't want to be more than friends. I didn't need to answer him, because my insecurities I knew were plain to read on my face.

"You think I act this way around other women? That I spend hours cooking dinner for them and worrying about everything that I could possibly say that would make them run away? You think I care that much about just anyone? Bella, you're the only one." By this point, I felt like my jaw had dropped to the floor. I was shell shocked. I really didn't have anything to say.

My hands made their way to his chest and I placed one over the middle to feel his heartbeat. It mirrored my own, erratic and frantic. This was unexpected and I was dancing inside, this evening, this time with _me, _made _his _heart race. Unless he had some kind of heart condition, I hope not.

"Does that answer your question?"

I nodded.

"Good, because I don't want you to ever doubt what you mean to me."

"And what's that?" In light of his confession I was feeling strangely bold and slid my hands up around his neck, I started playing with the hair at the nape of his neck and he let out a sound similar to Sheila when I rub her belly. Who knew, men really _are _dogs.

His hands resumed their place at the small of my back but moved around to hold my waist; he pulled me in close so our bodies were touching in so many more places than before. At around the same time he started whispering in my ear, I noticed a bulge from between his legs pressing into my stomach.

"I don't think you're ready for that yet."

Oh. My. God.

That meant that was his…I couldn't say it. But surely that meant he was aroused? Was that the right word? Turned on? And all by me, he was turned on by _me_! I couldn't wrap me head around it. I thought that sort of thing would feel disgusting, but I just wanted to press him closer to me, I wanted to feel _more._ Between what he was saying and what his _body _was making me feel, I could have collapsed into a puddle of goo right then and there.

"Hmm, I think we're ready for dessert don't you?"

_I don't know about dessert but __I sure as hell am ready for _something_. _

Dessert turned out to be a sheer test of my will power to _not _jump across onto his lap and maul him. Edward had made the most _amazing _chocolate torte. Not only that, but because he apparently didn't want it crumbling down me and ruining my clothes, he decided to _feed it to me. _

"The sauce isn't as thick as I thought it would be, and it would be such a shame to make a mess on your clothes, considering how _lovely _you look tonight."

_I had several other ideas for warm chocolate sauce and gasped at how _brazen _my thoughts were turning. _

Imagine, the man who has awakened _all kinds _of dark and dangerous feelings in me, feeding me chocolate torte. He was alternating between feeding me a mouthful and himself. I felt perverse in enjoying the fact that we were sharing the same fork, it was as close to kissing a man as I'd ever got. I gripped the sides of my chair in an effort not to grab him or force him to _finally_ kiss me. I'd spent the entire evening reeling over moments where I could feel his face next to mine, his breath in my ear, his lips in my hair, the sensations were maddening.

I never knew it could be like this, so _good, _I was insatiable for his touch. I knew I wouldn't just be satisfied with a kiss on the lips, I wanted kisses and touches everywhere. Edward Cullen had started to break my fear of boundaries but I also wanted to not feel insecure about touching him. He made me feel reassured that he wanted me with him, but I need to know that he _wanted _me.

We sat on the sofa together listening to music, Edward occasionally singing along softly to the lyrics. Strangely, it felt like he wasn't just singing in front of me, but _for _me. The melodic tones wafted through the speakers and sometimes, even if the lyrics weren't particularly romantic, I wanted to reach out and feel more of him. He was sitting with his arm around my shoulders but after our close dancing, it didn't feel like enough.

My previous confidence deserted me and I just couldn't force myself to let go and hold his hand, or stroke his hair like I wanted to. It was maddening.

The sweet torture continued for the rest of the evening and before I knew it, and long before I wanted the night to end, we were the door to my apartment. He let go of my hand as I fumbled for my key card trying to give him the opportunity to sweep in and do something.

_Please kiss me. Oh for the love of God please, PLEASE kiss me. __Fuck being _friends, _just do it!_

He didn't.

"I would invite you in, but I uh, I have to go shopping with Rosalie tomorrow morning and she wants to be out early." I'm sure my tone betrayed my reluctance and his answer sounded the same.

"So have a good weekend. I'll see you Monday."

"Goodnight Bella, Monday it is." I was left with a chaste kiss on the cheek which although made me happy, left me wanting so much more. Hmph.

Half an hour later I lay down reeling over my evening but also strangely disappointed. I knew that his body had responded to me but I wanted him to take action, to have no other choice _but _to kiss me, to have no restrictions. I had a problem now that I definitely wanted to be viewed by Edward as a _woman_, in every sense. For that, I knew I needed Rosalie.

**Thank you to Metro Lyrics**** and the radio for playing this song so much. **

**Please let me know what you thought.**

**Happy Wednesday Evening **


	13. Stepping Forward

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, your opinions and thoughts always mean so much to me. I love you all, every single one of you.**

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all **__**belong to Aurora, copyright June 2010.**_

_Last time…_

"_Goodnight Bella, Monday it is." I was left with a chaste kiss on the cheek which although made me happy, left me wanting so much more. Hmph._

_Half an hour later I lay down reeling over my evening but also strangely disappointed. I knew that his body had responded to me but I wanted him to take action, to have no other choice but to kiss me, to have no restrictions. I had a problem now that I definitely wanted to be viewed by Edward as a woman, in every sense. For that, I knew I needed Rosalie. _

**Chapter 13 – Stepping Forward**

I can safely say that the worst way to wake up is with a dog sitting on top of you. And not just any dog, oh no, but one that is stubborn, fluffy and extremely heavy. Her weight was spread across my torso and chest, preventing me from answering the visitor who had been so eagerly knocking on my door. Not a great way to start the day. Reality dawned on me as a wave of tiredness came over me. My final reality check came with the knowledge that I was in bed _alone, _sans seductive CEO. My dream world was a much better place to be.

Heaving aforementioned canine off my bed was much easier said than done. I stumbled to the front door, already mentally preparing a sequence of grumbles to throw at Rosalie for tearing me away from Dream Edward. _Dreamward._ Mmmmm…

At least I presumed it was her, fuck, if _he _was knocking on my door and I answered it looking like _this, _I'd have to go into hiding.

Thankfully, or maybe not so, it _was _Rose at the door.

"Have you seriously _just got up?_ It's nine o'clock, aren't you usually at work before sunrise everyday."

Ok, slight exaggeration, but I see her point.

"Obviously I'm up. Sorry I didn't realise the time, I'm really tired."

"Oooh I _bet _you are. So how _was Mr Cullen?_ I've heard he's amazing in bed, tell me everything, we have so much to talk about."

Oh. My. God.

"Rosalie, we didn't, I mean uh-, we, I didn't sleep with him."

"Oh. Why not?"

"Rose!"

"Why are you blushing like that Bella? Come on, you can talk to me about this stuff, don't be embarrassed. How far did you two go?"

"Nowhere. He hasn't even kissed me yet." I felt like an idiot for sounding so pathetic, but dammit I _wanted_ him.

What was I thinking? Of _course _he hadn't kissed me, because _friends _don't kiss each other, and we're friends, which means no kissing, or _anything _like that.

"I mean, not that I'm thinking about that…because…you know, we're friends."

"Cut the crap Bella, we both know your feelings for Edward are not limited to friendship. He doesn't think of you as just a friend; especially not after those jeans I put you in last night. Believe me. Listen I think we need to have a little talk, you need to know that men think in a slightly different way when it comes to _certain _things."

My 'instruction', as Rose put it, in the male psyche continued as I got dressed and on the way to Westfields.

"So you're saying that you can tell he wants to have sex with me, from what I've told you about last night, even though he hasn't _said_ that to me."

Needless to say I was somewhat confused.

"Almost. But that's not all, see the sex bit, that's only _part_ of it."

"Part of what?"

"What he wants from you."

"And what _does _he want from me?"

"I don't know you'll probably have to ask him that."

"Oh Rosalie!"

"Calm it calm it. Look Bella, let's get this straight. You told me he made you dinner, from scratch, no take-aways or frozen pizza, and the two of you spent a quiet evening together at his place. Am I right?"

"Yeah, oh, don't forget the dancing!"

"Oh God yes, the _dancing._ How could I forget, you've been talking about it constantly."

I deny nothing.

"So?"

"Gah, don't you get it? There are a lot of _boyfriends _who wouldn't do that for their partners. Fuck it; there are probably a lot of _husbands _who wouldn't do that for their wives. All this takes effort, Bella; guys like Edward would never go to such lengths to impress a girl, because they'd probably just jump into bed and kick their heels in the air with no effort on his part."

Oh.

Well technically, I _fell_ into his bed, but that's really not important at the moment.

"So what, you think he was trying to impress me?"

"Oh thank God, _finally _she gets it. Don't you see? By doing all of that he's showing you that _he _can look after you, _provide _for you, it's a male thing. Weren't you impressed?"

"Of course I was, I mean, other than enjoying spending time with him anyway, which I'd do no matter where we were. It really felt like he was looking after me."

"Exactly!"

"But what if that's all he really wants, just to you know -"

"Fuck you?"

So crude, but exactly what I was thinking, so I nodded.

"Because if that's _all _he wanted, then he wouldn't be trying so hard all the time, and he would have done more than kiss you by now. Don't get me wrong, if you threw yourself at him and really meant it, he probably wouldn't be able to say no. He's only a guy after all."

Wow.

I felt bad for thinking about it, but the _idea _of _Edward _being completely at my mercy sounded good. Really good. I imagined him unable to control himself, his words or his actions. I said the most asinine, ridiculous things around him, and he was just impeccable. _All the time._

I really, _really _wanted to see him lose control. Mainly because that's how I felt about him all the time, like I was under some kind of spell. He could say 'jump' and I'd say 'how high?' pathetic really.

Could I really do it though? I had my doubts of course about my abilities to even attempt something like that. Oh well, at least I knew Rosalie would be on board to help me. The idea of tempting Edward was sounding better and better the more I thought about it.

"Look I don't want to look like a slut, but do you think you could make me look a little more…womanly? I don't know, it's probably stupid…"

I was cut off by squealing and clapping, two sounds I had never expected to hear from _Rosalie._ She may have even been doing some kind of victory dance. Not that I could tell, obviously.

"Oh thank you Bella! It's so much better to have to not force you into this; you made the decision all on your own."

"I don't follow you."

"Honey, why did you think we were going shopping today anyway?"

Oh, right.

"Don't worry, you will look amazing. I don't think he'll survive the week, he won't know what's hit him."

"Remember, nothing slutty, I still have a dress code at work."

"Ok, ok. Oh isn't this exciting! There is one thing though. Heels. You're going to have to wear them."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because one, it'll make your legs and bum look better, not that there's anything wrong with _either _of them. And two, most guys have a thing for heels, they're kind of a turn on."

Clearly I'd been living on a different planet to most other women because I literally had _no idea _about any of this stuff. I just decided to take her word as law on the shoes thing and readily agreed.

Two hours and ten pairs of very high heeled shoes later, I was _so _ready to go home. Unfortunately, shoes were the _only _things we'd managed to buy in that time. Having organised a time for the shoes to be delivered to my apartment so we wouldn't have to carry anything; Rosalie calmly lead me into Agent Provocateur. I guess lingerie was next on the list then. I wasn't exactly a social butterfly but I knew the kind of things they sold in _that _shop.

"You know, do you _really _think we need to shop for underwear? It's not like anyone's going to be seeing it."

"Yet, Bella. At the moment, no, we're not going to be showing anything, but more than that, this is about _you. _A good, comfortable bra and panties set can do wonders for self confidence, which you are lacking in my dear. Anyway, it'll make you more…_alluring."_

"Really?" My tone was coloured with disbelief. Did women really use underwear to make them feel more confident?

"Absolutely"

In all my haste to follow her advice, I underestimated her interpretation of underwear that I would _be able to wear to work._ Apparently this category included thongs and hold-ups. I held the string in my hand and couldn't believe people wore these.

"It's like a headband." Her responding laugh resonated throughout the shop and I was sure we were drawing attention.

_Or at least the blind woman talking about a thong as a hair accessory was._

"Don't worry, this will make your bum look great in the skirts I had my eye on earlier."

"And are these skirts reasonable?"

"Of course, they're like an inch above your knee so you can't complain."

Well that sure didn't sound so bad.

"And I _have _to wear the thongs?"

"I'll admit, it might be a little weird at first, especially seeing as I know what you normally wear, which is, of course, unacceptable. Don't worry though, you get used to it really quickly. The hold ups are good as well because they don't move around like tights, but still give your legs a nice shape line under your skirt."

This was insane! How was there so much? I'd take forever getting ready in the morning if I had to worry about all of this everyday.

"Are we done yet?"

"Silly Bella, not be a long shot. Now go with Adele here to see what size bra you wear, then come back and tell me."

Well someone likes bossing people around. She should have _my _job, and then she could do that all day if she wanted and not torture _me. _

_Yes Bella, but then you'd have to be a supermodel and wear _latex _thongs and headscarves. _

Oh, well maybe not then.

After Adele, who was extremely shy, measured me I sat down in the waiting room while she went off to pick out some bras for me with Rosalie.

_That's fine, I'll just sit here all day, don't mind me. _

_No peace for the wicked._

"Bella! There you are, now Adele here tells me you're a 34C which isn't surprising really, those things _you _call bras you wear are so restricting. Well not anymore anyway. Listen, how about I finish up here and you can take your _mutt _and wait outside."

"She has a name you know." I'll admit I was protective over my girl; poor thing never did anyone any harm.

"Yeah yeah. Oh and I don't want to carry this stuff around all day so I'll just get it delivered, like we did with the shoes ok? I've put a few things in a bag for the next few days, but otherwise you won't need the rest until later. Bye bye training bra."

"Ok, thanks Rose."

Rosalie had taken a dislike to Sheila from the very beginning; she obviously wasn't a dog person.

"Don't go too crazy with the colours ok; remember I'm going to _work in an office, _not a strip club."

"Oh shush. Leave already."

Affectionate as always, only Rosalie.

Part of me was secretly hoping that all of it would need to be mailed next week, but in a way, I knew I needed to start as soon as possible. I thought of all the shoes we'd be carrying if it wasn't being delivered tomorrow. We agreed that while I went to see Charlie, she would catalogue all my new clothes into the Kaleidoscope. The only condition, of course was that I take Sheila with me, so she wouldn't be in the apartment. I'd have understood if she had an allergy but she just didn't like dogs, or more specifically, _my _dog.

Speaking of _dogs, _I knew I'd have to speak to Jacob if I wanted someone to take me to see Charlie. I really, _really _wanted to take the easy way out and ask Edward, I knew he'd say yes. It was comforting to know that I did at least have Edward as someone to rely on, a true friend, regardless of my romantic feelings towards him. It really was tempting just to pick up the phone and call him…

But no, Jacob works for me and before his hissy fit over Edward I was actually starting to like him. I needed to take the initiative by taking the first step here. Friendships were important and I thought that if I fixed _this, _then Jacob would be able to change his opinion of Edward.

My mind flicked back to last night and I sighed in contentment. It was almost encouraging hearing how concerned Edward was when I had told him about Jacob. Not because I liked him being unhappy or anxious, but it meant that he really _had _changed, and he was different than he was before. Clearly the Edward Jacob _thought _he knew was different from myEdward.

_My _Edward. That sure sounded nice. I never thought of the idea of belonging to somebody, in that way, as appealing, but then again Edward had made me rethink a hell of a lot of things.

"Earth to Bella, anyone home?"

"Uh yeah sorry, I was just thinking about something." I didn't want her to know where my train of thought had been heading so I ducked my head.

"Or someone, you can't fool me Swan, it's alright don't be embarrassed about thinking about Edward."

"Alright then."

Thankfully, there was none of the awkwardness of lingerie shopping when we moved on to shirts and skirts.

I was standing in the changing room starting to regret the decision to let Rosalie loose on my wardrobe. I was currently clad in the tightest feeling material wrapped around my thighs and stretching over my bum.

"Rose I can't wear this."

"Come out and let me see."

I stepped out and twirled around, careful not to trip over any air.

"I don't see any problem Bella, it's grey which is a pretty neutral colour, and it's practically touching your knees."

"Not that! It's moulded itself to my body."

"You do realise that you're talking about a skirt as if it's _alive."_

"It's tighter than the jeans last night! I didn't know that was possible."

"Is it restricting or uncomfortable?"

"Well no, but it leaves _nothing _to the imagination. I will not go in on Monday dressed inappropriately."

"It's a knee length skirt and it's meant to accentuate your curves and body lines. You're plenty covered up."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me; you won't look like a skank."

Well that's alright then.

I wrestled as gently as I could with the zip around the back of the skirt when I heard my blackberry ringing. I answered it in hope that it wasn't one of my team, the task I'd given them all to do this weekend wasn't exactly challenging. Or at least it _shouldn't be._

"Bella Swan." I put my phone on loudspeaker and resumed the epic battle with my skirt.

"How's the shopping going?"

Oh crap. As much as I wanted to always have the sound of _his _voice in my ear, now wasn't actually the best time.

"Great, ow shit, yeah great, what are you doing?"

"Bella, I know shopping can be painful but what's going on?"

"I'm just trying to take this skirt off but the fabric keeps getting twisted."

"Where are you?"

"In a changing room." Why was he asking me this?

"Which shop?"

"Why?"

"Because helping you take your clothes off seems _much _more exciting than what I originally had planned for the afternoon."

Oh my goodness. I really can't believe he just, oh wow. I wonder whether I should tell him about the bra fitting I had earlier.

Now here I was at a dilemma, the less noble side of me wanted to scream down the phone for him to come as quickly as possible, then we could rip the clothes off each other. That would certainly beat spending any more time in the shops.

Unfortunately, my more rational side took control, blushing to the extreme and politely telling Edward that _no, _I did _not _need any help getting my clothes off, and that I'd talk to him later.

"Well the offer stands, _anytime _you want help, getting _anything off_, you just give me a call and I'll be there_._" His voice was thick with implication and he chuckled as I stood there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot. Although I had no idea what he meant about the last part.

Unfortunately Rosalie did.

"Bella Swan you can't talk to him, get off the phone! Now!"

"Sorry Edward, that was Rosalie, I'll see you later."

"Bye Bella, send my very _warmest_ regards to your difficult skirt."

"Uh ok. Right bye."

What the hell? How could he make me feel like _this _just by _talking_ to me? _That _was the kind of power I wanted to have over him. I wanted to _not _turn into a mess _every_ time I was near him.

"I can't believe we were out all day, I'm exhausted." Sheila seemed to share my sentiments because she was already whining for her dinner.

"Yeah but didn't you have fun?

"Define fun."

I was reluctant to give her the impression that this was something I wanted to do frequently.

"Oh don't be awkward, anyway it's this or internet shopping which is so incredibly boring; you can't actually see the products properly."

"Rose, I can't see them _at all." _

"Touché."

"So if I'm not in when you come over, just tell Frank downstairs and he'll let you in."

"Oooh who's Frank?"

"He's the sixty-something doorman we passed on our way in."

"Oh."

"Bye Rosalie."

Fuck it I knew this was a mistake. Why did I have to convince myself to try to be all noble and make up with Jacob? We were sitting in the car on the way to see Charlie and neither of us had spoken in the last twenty minutes. I wanted him to apologize and explain himself, but he seemed to be just about as stubborn as Sheila.

_Figures, they're both dogs. _

I called him last night, asking in as few words as possible, whether he was free to drive me today. I was praying for him to say no, so that then I would have no choice but to call Edward and spend the day with him. Even though Rosalie had forbidden me to do just that.

"So how are you?" Seriously, after twenty minutes _that _was the best he could come up with.

"Fine."

"Good."

You?"

"Great."

"Jacob what's your problem?"

"My problem, _my problem_, you're the one who won't talk to me because I bruised the perfect image you have of _Cullen._"

"Look that's bullshit. You're not full of crap Jacob so stop talking like you are."

"I just don't know why you think he deserves such a good opinion."

"Well I don't know why you have such a _bad _one of him."

"Really Bella, you want to know why I think he's just another one of those no good rich kids who runs around barking orders?"

"Hit me with it, I don't care."

"When he first joined CGB, when he first started working there, he was a mess. He barely came into the office everyday and when he did the hours were awful. He's got a job that pays him an incredible amount of money for doing nothing all day. So that makes him lazy. Do you know how many times I had to drive him from club to club? Picking up different girls everywhere he went. Bella, that's no way to treat a woman, no matter who she is. And you know what; it's not just the women. I felt like he was always talking down to me, like I was just another nameless, faceless part of the help, there to do whatever he wanted of me. I think you deserve someone better than that Bella, someone who values you as a person, and doesn't want anyone else. Cullen doesn't strike me as a one woman man."

I remembered his words from Friday night and I wanted to immediately contradict Jacob.

_You think I care that much about just anyone? Bella, you're the only one._

"Edward. His name is Edward."

"I've just told you all that and you picking up on what I call him. Doesn't he repulse you after what I said? Because he should do."

"No, he doesn't. Jacob, I appreciate why you don't like him, but he's really not like that anymore. He _is _different. And anyway, that was what he _used to be _like, it doesn't matter anymore." I tried to keep my voice as soft as possible; I really didn't want to shout. I knew I could easily get quite…_passionate_ about my feelings for Edward, so I remained as calm as possible.

"You're serious aren't you?"

"Absolutely. Look, I'm not saying that I wouldn't tell him where to go if he ever _really _did anything wrong, but right now, well we're getting along really well."

"What do you mean?"

"He's a friend, that's all."

"Bella, women aren't _friends _with Edward."

"You sound like Rosalie. But don't worry, for now, we're good friends."

There was silence in the car for a while, and I knew Jake was absorbing everything I'd been saying. I felt good, really good after saying my piece; it was the truth after all. I don't know if what Jacob had said had really _shocked me_, because I knew, whatever it was that it really _didn't matter. _I could only feel for and know Edward as the person he was now.

"Alright then, I'll lay off him. I'll be nice, but you know the minute he puts a foot wrong, I'll kick his ass."

"Don't worry; I'll probably beat you to it."

The rest of the way to the home was so much easier, the conversation was lighter, and as soon as Jake started joking around like he usually did, I felt so much better.

Now I was waiting to see my father, warring with the inefficient receptionist, confused as hell.

"What do you mean I can't see him? I don't understand."

"I'm sorry Miss Swan, but Charlie isn't in a stable enough condition to receive visitors today, we had a bit of a scare last night."

"What are you talking about? Why didn't someone contact me?"

"Unfortunately our computers are going in for repair, so we don't have all of the residents' contact numbers in one place. Someone _should _have called you about coming today."

"Yeah well, they didn't. How's he doing now?"

"His condition isn't quite stable but because of the fall he took, recovery could be slow."

"So when can I see him?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. If you call us next week prior to your visit we'll be able to update."

I could tell that I wouldn't be able to see him today, no matter what I said. I was fighting a losing battle.

"Right, whatever thank you _so much _for your help."

I stumbled haphazardly across the patio with Sheila leading me until I got back to Jacob.

"What's the matter Bella?"

"They…they won't let me see my dad. Something about him not being well enough, I mean for fucks sake, he's in a home, it's not like I don't know he isn't well."

He pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back soothingly just like I remember Charlie doing. There was nothing remotely sexual in it, he was just comforting me, and at that moment, it was exactly what I needed.

"Thanks Jake. Can you take me home now?"

"Sure thing Bells, anytime."

The drive home was much more sombre and for me, full of guilt. For some reason I thought blaming myself was the right thing, for not knowing how Charlie was. When in actual fact I knew it wasn't me, I couldn't check up on him everyday, as much as I would love to, it just wasn't possible. I just didn't have enough time, I always needed more _time. _

Later in the evening, sitting with Sheila and a coffee after having had a long bath, I felt infinitely better. Rosalie left me a message saying that she had catalogued _all _of the clothes, even some more things that she picked up this morning. She was really quite incredible. I settled in for the night, desperately looking forward to tomorrow, because no matter what clothes I was wearing, I knew that _Edward _would be there.

**So…what do we think?**

**This one was actually really hard for me to write because I have had such a shit last couple of days, there's a lot going on at the moment. Saying that, I probably won't update for another **_**two weeks**_**, but depending on things, there may be something before then. **

**In the meantime, let me know, good or bad, maybe it answered some questions, or left you with more. Tell me either way.**

**Aurora**


	14. Undisclosed Desires

**Readers, it's good to be back. Sorry for the late update, I've been working and flying which doesn't leave time to write. This is unedited so please forgive mistakes; I don't have time to edit.**

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews to last chapter; it's a wonderful feeling when someone reviews with some kind words.**

**Just a quick one, by the end of Chapter 15 I'm hoping for 300+ reviews. I just want to know if you're all still interested in the story. Thank you.**

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright July 2010.**_

_Last time…_

_Later in the evening, sitting with Sheila and a coffee after having had a long bath, I felt infinitely better. Rosalie left me a message saying that she had catalogued __all __of the clothes, even some more things that she picked up this morning. She was really quite incredible. I settled in for the night, desperately looking forward to tomorrow, because no matter what clothes I was wearing, I knew that __Edward __would be there._

**Chapter 14 – Undisclosed Desires**

I was feeling unusually optimistic as Sheila and I climbed the steps at the front of the CGB building. I was coming in much later than usual, and it was noticeably noisier in the foyer than at my usual half past five. I'd relished in the chance to sleep in a little bit, something I would never normally do. I smiled as I listened to the sound of my heels clicking along the marble floor in contrast to Sheila's padding alongside me. Truthfully I was excited, nervous too, but definitely excited.

Jake was surprised and grateful when I rang him last night to tell him to not bother picking me up until nine. I suddenly felt bad because although it was Jake's job to drive me around everywhere, maybe other people didn't like getting up at the crack of dawn, I thought back to Rosalie and my guilt solidified. I prepared an apology to give him as soon as I sat down in the car this morning but was interrupted by him choking on something.

"Shit Bella, wow, I mean Christ, I didn't know…wow."

"Do I look ok? Don't let me walk in there looking like some sort of clown."

"I think if all the clowns looked like you the circus would be much cooler."

I almost snorted at how ridiculous that sounded.

"I'm serious Jake; do I have to get changed?"

"Nope, you are just _fine. Very _fine. Let's get in the car before you get harangued by whistling men."

His approval made me feel a lot more comfortable, I knew Jake was telling me objectively what he thought. And besides, two seals of approval were better than one.

I thought back to a conversation with Rosalie when she suggested coming in a bit later every Monday so I wouldn't be starting the week with an early morning, making myself tired. I didn't think much of it at the time, I'd had the same routine for years and it honestly wasn't that bad. So I was surprised when I woke up feeling really _good _this morning, better than usual, maybe it was just the product of a good night's sleep.

Or maybe it was the mind blowing visit from _Dreamward_ in the middle of the night. Just thinking about it was enough to make my toes tingle and a blush spread over my face.

_I stepped confidently out of the lift and proceeded to make the short journey to my office, only to be interrupted by my favourite voice whispering in my ear. _

"_Isabella? I think I'd like to see you in my office. _Now_" I felt his breath tickle my ear and the heat of it was making me feel like I was on fire. I tried to imagine his lips as they moved when he was talking, but found myself unable to concentrate. His voice was firm and commanding, making me bite my lip in anticipation. I've been pretty much sexually repressed for as long as I can remember, but certain parts of me were very eager to make themselves known after hearing _that.

_With much more energy and speed than I was used to have in the morning I walked, or rather ran, Sheila to my office with my things. My breathing was shaky as I closed the door and I jumped when I felt his strong fingers firm at my hip, his arm around my back, guiding me to where we both wanted to be. I revelled in his warmth and the solid feeling of safety that his strong arm was providing. The previous heat I felt from his touch was nothing compared to the inferno he was leaving behind as he sensuously trailed his fingers in excruciatingly slow circles on my hip. _

_I knew the moment we moved from the hallway to his office because I was pushed firmly, but not roughly, against a wall. I felt his hands on the side of my head on the wall and his forehead pressed against my own. His ragged breathing matched my own, his delicious breath washing over my face and teasing my lips in the most seductive way. I wanted to drown in it, in _him.

"_What are you _doing _to me?"_

Nothing compared to what I want to.

_When his hands moved around to cup my face I gave up on trying to form words, it just wasn't going to happen. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest, I was panting like some kind of deranged animal but couldn't find it in me to care less. _

"_I _want _you so badly."_

_Hearing this I let out some kind of inhuman noise somewhere between a moan and a gasp. As he spoke to me, his voice thick with need, I felt just how _much _he wanted me. The bulge between his legs, his _cock_, pressed right against the aching apex of my legs. I started to throb in such a way that was almost painful, I didn't even know I could ache…_down there. _It seemed like all the pulse points in my body had relocated themselves at that point. _

_To further emphasize our mutual need his hands traced my sides, moving ever so slowly past my breast and my ribs, flowing over my waist and my hips around to my bum. He squeezed the soft flesh and that time a harsh moan escaped my mouth, which I desperately wanted to be covered by his. Not only because his hands were touching me, but because he had pulled me closer to him and now I was even more aware of his dick between my legs. The once seemingly large bulge could now only be described as huge as it pressed deliciously against my sex. _

"_I fucking love your ass in this skirt." He practically growled the words, making me melt in his arms. __Somehow my powers of speech momentarily returned to me, allowing me to utter two words to reveal my desires. _

"_Kiss me." The breath was knocked out of me by Edward's answering squeeze of my bum. I must have sounded beyond desperate, fuck it, I really, really was. _

"_Oh Bella, I'm going to do so much _more _than that." His words had a sinister, dark seductive edge that only served in arousing me even more. I felt his breath on my face like before, only this time, I could feel him coming closer, so close to me. His lips brushed against mine for the shortest time I thought I could have imagined it. I reached out to pull him closer but there was nothing but air in my hands. _

I'd woken up around two, gasping and frustrated, my heart making a champion effort to claw out of my chest, my sex aching as in the dream. And because I knew there was nothing I could do about it at the moment, I'd gone back to sleep.

Setting my folders and spreadsheets down on my desk, I was determined not to be disappointed as in my dream, although certain aspects of that dream had been _extremely _fulfilling. Ok, so I'd stepped out of the lift and Edward hadn't tried to kidnap me and drag me back to his proverbial cave, but a girl could dream. Besides, I hadn't even seen him this morning, he might not even be in, he could be in a meeting, or any number of places.

As it was, my day passed at an unusually slow pace. I felt like I was literally counting the minutes until our afternoon tea meeting. Last week I'd been dreading it, I knew they wouldn't have done everything I'd asked of them and I really hated being put behind schedule. But I knew Edward would get the chance to see me, I was excited for his reaction to the 'new me' as Rosalie had put it. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting an onslaught of passion as in my dream, not that I'd object of course, but a little surprise would be nice.

After all, when Rosalie had come by this morning on the way to a photo shoot, she'd said I looked completely different, but in a good way. Mind you, any change from my customary black trousers and white shirt was bound to look drastic. I wasn't usually shallow, but I delighted in the thought that Edward might look at me, I mean really _look at me, _like he did other women, because he found me attractive. Besides, I really did miss him.

_Get over it; you spoke to him on Saturday. _Cue blush.

My newfound optimism stayed with me throughout the morning as I flitted between offices collecting weekend status reports. It wasn't something I normally enjoyed doing, it was more than common to hear that project managers just _hadn't had adequate time to collate data over forty-eight hours. _I laughed at how many times I'd had to listen to that kind of bullshit excuse. One too many I tell you, one too many. So naturally, I was surprised when I managed to acquire six reports, handed over, albeit grudgingly, but on time.

Even Mike Newton, someone I'd sensed wasn't much of a grafter was prompt with handing over his. Poor guy was obviously coming down with something though, as soon as I walked into his office I was met with a coughing fit, he was practically gasping. I gave him a sympathetic pat on the back; I knew how awful it was to be at work when you weren't feeling your best.

"Thanks Bella, it's so great to be working for someone like you."

"Hold onto that when we get to deadlines, I promise I'm a bitch."

I took the whole morning as a sign, a very _good _sign that other _things _were going to go well today.

I practically jumped on the spot when Angela asked me, albeit nervously, to hand over the reports to Edward, apparently she was swamped already. It was obvious she didn't have the time to run through them with him. I was more than happy to help her out.

I breezed confidently into his office since it was open, if he was on a conference call or something else important, he would have closed his door.

"Hi Edward, Angela asked me to give you these, they're all here which is good. You want to run through them now or later?"

The silence in the room made me think he hadn't heard me, but surely he'd seen me come in. How odd.

"Edward…did you hear me? Is everything ok?"

"Shopping with Rosalie was _productive _then?" His tone indicated that everything was most definitely _not _ok.

Now I was nervous, my confidence nowhere to be found.

"Uh yeah, she found my wardrobe to be…lacking."

"I see." Now his tone was flat, as if they were just words rather than actual thoughts.

A couple of the most awkward minutes in history passed and I honestly had no idea what to say or do. Normally by this time, Edward would have hugged me or guided me to a chair. And he would certainly be much happier and eager for conversation. He didn't appear to have moved; at least he didn't make a sound when he did.

"So…where do you want those reports?"

"There's a small desk to your right, they're fine there, thank you." Now this was strange to the extreme, he was never this formal with me.

"Is there anything on the floor? You know I really don't want to fall flat on my face." I spoke as I manoeuvred my way carefully over to his desk, which was not the main one he was sitting at. I had to think for a second, maybe I smelt bad, like _really bad_. Impossible, I _knew _of all things that I'd remembered to put deodorant on this morning and I washed my hair as usual.

But I had put some of that coconut body butter on my arms, maybe he was allergic or something, oh shit, I could be causing him physical pain with my vanity. Before I could rein in my speech I was asking him.

"Are you allergic to coconut?"

"What? No, I'm not. Why are you asking me that?" He just sounded downright confused now, stupid mouth, stupid Bella.

"No reason."

_Great cover up, because that's not weird or suspicious at all._

Yeah, that was probably not one of my best moments.

"Are you sure there isn't anything I could trip over? These heels don't exactly help my clumsiness."

"No, *cough*, uh, no, I'm sure you'll be fine." Now he sounded condescending, I hated this change in him. I didn't know this Edward. _My _Edward would have said something like 'I won't let you fall' or 'I'll always be there to catch you'. _That _was the man I knew and dreamed about, frequently, not this unfeeling doppelganger.

"So…is there anything -"

"If I need something I'll ask Angela."

"I'm not talking about work stuff. I was just going to ask you if there was anything you wanted to talk about. You seem really…different. What's wrong?"

My hands hung uselessly at my sides, I wanted to touch him, even now when he was being a grouch, and I wanted to be close to him, to be able to feel him, even with the most innocent of touches.

"Wrong? No, not at all. Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine, just fine."

And _that _was a normal answer?

I couldn't get over how strange this all felt. We were in the same room but I suddenly felt like he was a million miles away. There was none of the playful banter I was used to, he wasn't trying to make me laugh, even his voice sounded weird like this.

I resigned myself to accepting that maybe Sunday had been really bad for him, or he could have had a terrible morning. I knew I'd done nothing wrong, but I was also one hundred percent certain that something was not quite right, this just wasn't him.

"Look I'm not stupid. I know there's something wrong. You can tell me if you want to, or don't. I guess I'll see you for lunch anyway."

I didn't get a response; I think I was almost afraid of what he'd say. Today he was like the polar opposite of the man I'd had dinner with Friday night. Maybe when we went to lunch he'd be different, maybe relax a bit, even though he was extremely grumpy today. I was still looking forward to it. The last time, last Monday had been nothing short of fantastic. I wasn't about to forget what he could be like if he wanted to.

One o'clock came and went and I was feeling guilty for being late, I hadn't heard from Edward so maybe he'd assumed I didn't _want _to go. That would be the biggest lie in the world. I had a ton of legal emails to listen to that I'd been included in on. For what reason, I have no idea.

"Edward, hi, I'm really, really sorry I'm late. Caius sent me through a load of emails; I'll be ten minutes tops. Shall I meet you downstairs?" I crossed the fingers on the hand that was holding the phone.

_Please don't be a jerk, please. _

"Sorry I can't uh, not today, there's a lunch meeting."

"Oh. Maybe tomorrow then?"

"Actually this week is pretty crazy, no real free time. I won't really be able to get out; can we take a rain check?"

"Sure, whatever, have _fun."_

I held the phone in my hand for several minutes after I'd hung up. I wanted to call him again and ask what the fuck he'd done with Edward Cullen, because this wasn't him.

A while later, having got over my initial disappointment I paged Angela to come and collect some contracts for Edward to sign. He'd told me he was busy in a meeting, so it was probably best to leave them with her so he could get them later. I told Angela as much.

She fiddled around for a moment, probably checking her schedule.

"He should be free actually. Thank God for that. I always dread telling him about lunch meetings, I worry he's not going to go to them, because he's always trying to get out of them. I guess this must be my lucky week."

What the fuck?

"So does he have any lunchtime appointments this week?"

"Nope, which means I get a guaranteed lunch break for five days. And it's a three day weekend, bank holiday Monday, I can't wait. I haven't had a week this good for a while."

Lying pig.

"That's nice. Are you going to see Ben?" On the inside I was fuming so I tried to keep my voice light and conversational.

"How do you…?"

"It's kind of obvious. And besides, he's up here three times a day to update my computer which I know very well can be done from downstairs. Plus whenever I say your name he starts to stutter, it's adorable."

"Really? Ben? But he's so…wow." She sounded so shocked and so…happy. I was glad to be able to giver her some good news. It put a brightener on my fucker of a day.

"Honestly. You should spend as much time with him as you can. Just keep it to lunch times during the week ok? Weekends you can go crazy."

She laughed at that, and it reminded me how so desperately I wanted to be happy today.

"Oh don't worry, I'll be careful. I don't want Edward pissed off anymore than he is already. He really is in a _foul _mood this morning." And didn't I know it.

"I see. I'll talk to you later Angela, have a good afternoon."

Unexpectedly she gave me a quick hug and whispered a fervent 'thank you' in my ear. In all honesty I was quite taken aback.

So he was ignoring me was he? It was obvious to me now that I'd done something to upset him. Well let me show him how upset I am.

I left Edward a rather curt voicemail and felt much better afterwards.

"Oh hi Edward, I just wanted to tell you that you can go fuck yourself with your 'rain check'. Enjoy all the 'free time', lying pig."

After a while I thought that maybe it wasn't the best idea to call my boss a lying pig and tell him to go 'fuck himself'. But what's done is done, and Edward had severely disappointed me, he'd just have to deal with the consequences.

The rest of the week only confirmed my fears. Each day I wet through a cycle of having renewed confidence in the morning after a vivid dream which Edward starred in, which quickly turned to frustration when it was confirmed he was _still _not talking to me. Then I was upset and tried to convince myself that the last couple of weeks hadn't been some kind of fantastic dream. I knew because each night I dreamt of all the time we'd spent together, and all the things we could do in the future. Except in my dreams, the days were longer, it was like we were spending months together at a time, quite frankly it was wonderful.

The dreams transcended through to my working day and more often than not, I'd find myself supposedly listening to the speaker, when I was really playing _my_ Edward's voice over in my head, again and again. It was much more interesting anyway.

Fortunately he couldn't avoid me completely, my position at the company made it impossible. If it was a meeting in the morning and I was frustrated and angry, I'd sit there opposite him and hum _I'd Rather Be With You, _at which time he'd cough and ask if he had my full attention.

How ironic? I've not been able to think of anything but him for the whole week. My head was literally filled with Edward Cullen. If he knew he couldn't possibly ask me if _he _had _my_ attention.

I was convinced that his phase of ignoring me had come to an end on Thursday afternoon when he called me into his office. I was overjoyed because I knew it wouldn't be about work, no meetings were scheduled and if it was just a simple question, then he would have called me. As it was I was practically bouncing into his office, only to be met with the feeling that something was wrong.

I had no idea how I knew, I just did.

"Close the door please Bella."

_Yes! Maybe this is the part where he gives into his feelings for you in an uncontrollable display of passion and lust._

"You wanted to see me?"

"Hmm. Would you mind explaining to me why I received this box today?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Edward. I didn't send you anything."

"Really? So why is my office listed as the alternative address if you were not available?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't have anything sent to me at the office."

"Well the box clearly says your name, and the company address. Why don't you come and _feel _what's inside."

Now I was extremely confused, and unsettled by the eerie calm tone of his voice. His hand was at the small of my back guiding me forward before I even knew he'd moved. He placed his hand on top of my own and if I weren't so worried about what would happen next, what I'd find in the fucking box, I would be enjoying the close contact, the feel of his body against mine.

My fingers came into contact with something soft, and silky, and then lace and oh…

_Well fuck a duck._

I could feel all the lingerie I'd bought with Rosalie from Agent Provocateur.

Which means…

Shit! Shit! Shit!

My lingerie…Edward's office, his hand, my hand, touching said lingerie.

But how?

Rosalie Hale was dead, so dead. Supermodel or not.

"So _Bella, _are these _yours?_"

Don't lie, just tell the truth, this was all a huge misunderstanding, just apologise and be done with it.

"Yes but Rosalie -"

"Is there any reason why these delicate items have been delivered to me?"

I fully understand that this was meant to be a serious conversation and that giggling was totally inappropriate what with my boss standing with his hand in a box of my newly purchased lingerie. I just couldn't help myself.

"De-...delicate *giggle*, delicate items? Are you serious?"

"Do I sound like I'm joking? I can't believe you would show this much disrespect for your workplace. This isn't funny."

My laughing stopped as I realised that he was actually serious.

"Edward do you honestly think I would send you my lingerie, a whole box of it, when you've done nothing but _ignore _me this week? That seems a little backward to me."

"I haven't-"

"Yes you have. And don't worry, Rosalie filled out the delivery forms when we went shopping, she probably thought it'd be funny. I'm not _lying _to you."

"I can't believe you -"

"Don't worry it won't happen again. I'd hate for you to have to feel so disgusted." As hurriedly as I could I collected my things, including the troublesome box and made my way out.

"Bella you dropped a pair of…"

"Keep them. I _dare _you."

I slumped down in my chair and for a good half hour, reached new levels of mortification over what I'd just said and _done. _

_This has got to be the worst week ever; I've insulted my boss, ruined any chance of reconciling with Edward, and forced a pair of lacy boy shorts on him. _

I was just getting ready to leave when Renee picked up a call from Esme.

"Oh Bella dear how are you?"

"Hi Esme, um great, I'm good. I'm just getting ready to leave the office."

"So late, you work far too much. My son hasn't been working you too hard as he?"

_Well he's certainly not working me the way I want him to._

"No, I haven't seen much of him actually; we've both been pretty busy."

No need to tell the _whole_ truth.

"Then you'll be able to come to the house for dinner tomorrow night. We both miss you and you'll have time to talk with Edward."

"Edward's going to be there."

"Yes, I'm not letting him out this time; he sounded so grumpy when I spoke to him today."

I bet he did.

"A nice home cooked meal will fix him."

"Se Bella, that's what I told him. I'm so glad we're on the same page."

Esme always had a curious sense of logic, it usually involved saying anything to get her own way, which at this time, was to see her son. Usually I found it was better to go along with it.

"Yeah."

"So you're coming? That's lovely; I'll tell Edward to drag you out by five if he has to."

He's going to want to lock me in the building to keep me away, not drag me _out. _

"You do that, see you tomorrow."

"Bye sweetheart."

Well this was going to be interesting.

**All will be fixed very soon, I promise.**

**In the mean time, what did we think?**

**I hope you all have a great weekend and see you soon for an update. **


	15. I've Got You Under My Skin

**Hello my darlings. I apologise for not replying to all the wonderful reviews I received for the last chapter, I still think you guys are amazing, like seriously awesome.**

**This chapter was super hard to write, I'm not entirely happy with it, but I wanted to give you an update before I go away on Saturday for a week.**

**I mentioned it last chapter but I'll say it again, I'm looking for 300+ reviews before I submit Chapter 16, things are starting to heat up so I hope you feel inspired to write me a little something. **

**Reviews really do make my day.**

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright August 2010.**_

Last time…

"_So you're coming? That's lovely; I'll tell Edward to drag you out by five if he has to."_

_He's going to want to lock me in the building to keep me away, not drag me _out_. _

"_You do that, see you tomorrow."_

"_Bye sweetheart." _

_Well this was going to be interesting._

**Chapter 15 – I've Got You Under My Skin**

Last night I told myself it'd be the last time I'd cry over this, whatever it was. Now I was just angry, like seriously fucking pissed off. How _dare _he make me feel all those things, and then shut himself off to me. Well if he wants to give me hell, he better be expecting some payback. He's not about to get away with this.

When Edward failed to show up to our weekly team review meeting this morning, my mood surpassed 'pissed off'. If he thought he could just go to meetings that didn't involve me, or skip in and out whenever he felt like it. He was fucking wrong.

I think I came across a little harsh to Angela when I asked where he was. I immediately regretted my tone.

"Sorry, this is just pissing me off."

"I know Bella, its fine; he's been like this _all week. _Every time I walk in there I'm nervous he's going to snap. Has he got PMS or something?"

I gasped as soon as she finished and I swear I _heard _her slap her own hand over her mouth.

"Oh Bella I didn't mean it. That was totally unprofessional; please don't mention it to Edward, _please." _

And then suddenly I couldn't help my laugh, yesterday I'd insisted Edward keep a pair of lacy midnight blue boy shorts, and Angela was worried about what she'd said. This week I'd taken unprofessional to a whole new level. She had nothing to worry about. I didn't want her to fret so I put her mind at ease.

"You're probably right anyway, but no, don't worry, I won't say anything. He's going to hear a lot worse from me since he missed the meeting this morning."

"Should I try calling him again?"

"No, don't worry. Just let me into his office, I'll wait for him there."

"Are you sure?" She sounded nervous.

"Of course. I've handled beasts bigger than Edward's temper. It's fine."

She released the lock on his door and I strolled through confidently, sitting myself in his swivel chair behind his deck. I had an image of him walking in as I swivelled around, a white fluffy cat perched on my lap. I let out an unattractive snort as I remembered how Sheila would probably eat the thing for breakfast, she didn't like cats. Not one bit.

I busied myself for the next half an hour with answering calls that I hadn't been able to respond to due to me actually attending this morning's meeting. I considered letting Edward walk in to see my feet up on his desk, but thought that was a little too much. If he'd have done that shit in _my_ office I'd chuck him out for sure.

I'd just come off the phone with Caius Volturi and already the day felt like it couldn't end quickly enough. The man speaks law, not English, so it's very difficult to have a general conversation with him about the legal status of the take-over. Fortunately I didn't have much time to twiddle my thumbs before Edward came in, seeming to stop short when he realized he wasn't alone.

"Bella, to what do I owe the -"

"- Inconvenience of having to see me? You forgot about something this morning."

"I'm sorry."

"What specifically for? There's an awful lot that that could apply to." I was keeping my voice calm, because I could so easily start shouting at him, and I didn't want to lose my cool, or dignity.

"Everything. Please Bella, you have to let me explain."

"The only things I want to hear are why you didn't come to this morning's meeting and why you refuse to keep Angela informed of your whereabouts. It's extremely difficult for her to do her job if she doesn't know where you are." Keep it cool Bella, keep it cool.

"Something came up, I didn't have time. But look -"

Right there was where my anger boiled over.

"You didn't have _time? _Fuck that Cullen! You lying to _me _is one thing but this project is actually bigger than the pathetic little problems you seem to have with me, whatever they are. I don't know what the _hell happened _to you this week but I will not let you make my fucking job any harder for me than it already is."

"I'm making things harder for _you? _I could say exactly the same about you." I stood up and walked around the desk to what I somehow knew he'd be standing. I don't know how I found him, but there was an uncomfortable pull I felt towards him, my body, if not my mind, seemed to be so in tune with him.

"What the hell are you talking about; I mean really what is your problem? Why all of a sudden do you have to be so different?" I realised I sounded like I was whining, like a kid who didn't get their own way, but I didn't care.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Why is it that you can't ever say what you're thinking? You always dance around the issue." I moved a couple of steps towards him and realised how close we were when his hand moved to my elbow.

"Because you wouldn't want to hear it."

"What if I do?"

"Trust me, you don't."

"Say it. Out with it, whatever it is that's made you act this way." I was beginning to feel tired, emotionally rather than physically, trying to guess what was behind every sentence was exhausting.

"I can't." His voice was softer now and I knew his pretence was slipping away. I'd get it out of him at some point, maybe tonight.

"Edward, it's just me. Stop running away."

"I'm sorry."

"Shut up with the 'I'm sorry'. It's not good enough, you can't just say that. Where _were_ you?"

There was a few moments of silence and I felt like stamping my feet. When he finally spoke his voice was nervous and much quieter.

"Downstairs in acquisitions, Aro wanted to run over some things. I've been working overtime this week to make sure the proposal is ready. Bottom line is, we're ahead of schedule, and we should be ready to bid by Christmas. I wanted to wait until tonight to tell you."

"But how -"

"You told me if I wanted things done I had to put in the hours. This week has been…difficult for various reasons, but I wanted to get one thing right. Phase one should be completed by the end of November which gives us time to coordinate the bid."

In that moment it felt like I'd found the Project Manager's holy grail – a CEO who not only delivers on time, but plans to finish ahead of schedule. I couldn't believe I was hearing this. I wanted to jump up, wrap my legs around him and hug him tightly, but of course I didn't.

"Why did you do it? That must have been a hell of a lot of extra work." To say I was incredulous was an understatement, this was the man who when I had first met him, struggled to come into the office _at all_. His explanation also made me understand why he hadn't come this morning, I just wish he'd told me, I would have totally understood.

"If it means less work for you, if it makes you happy, then it's worth it." He sounded so honest.

I almost didn't believe it.

"Bullshit."

"I'm serious Bella, I did this for _you."_

"You know your mood swings are giving me whiplash."

"I'm sorry."

"Good you should be. You're still a moody fucktard though."

"I deserve that." His hand moved to gently grasp mine and it was the best feeling I'd had all week. It was like my entire body had been numb because he wasn't touching me, and now I was suddenly getting feeling back. I had to be careful though, whenever I got too close to Edward or if he touched me, my thoughts would scatter and incoherence would be a strong possibility.

"You're not forgiven; you can't just treat me like a stranger all week, apologise and then expect everything to be ok."

"I know." His other hand went to grasp mine and I had to pull back otherwise I knew I'd give in, and wave goodbye to my pride.

"Good."

"What time are you leaving today? Mom said she invited you to dinner."

"Uh, Jake said he'd pick me up at five."

"I'll take you."

"No, you don't have to -"

"I want to."

"Why?"

"Isn't obvious?"

"After this week, no, not so much. I have no idea what page you're on, whiplash remember?"

"My feelings for you are still the same. I know I behaved badly, I am sorry and I _will _explain but I'm not lying to you."

"You promise?"

He leaned down so his mouth was close to my ear and his voice sent shivers though me.

"I promise. That sort of thing doesn't just change, not for me anyway." His voice turned wistful towards the end and it made me so happy.

I really needed to leave before I did something ridiculous; I wanted to make sure I knew everything before I got my hopes up again.

Who am I kidding? I was already more than hoping. For the first time in a week I was hearing _my _Edward again.

"I need to go back to work."

His hands gripped mine firmly but not painfully and I allowed myself a small smile at how precious he was making me feel…_again. _

"_Why?"_

Because I need to go jump up and down in excitement in my own office, here would be inappropriate.

Smooth Swan, real smooth.

"Because I need to be ready to leave at four, and it's already past one."

I made to move away again and this time he let me.

"Ok but _I'm_ picking you up at five."

"Yes sir." I made a mock salute and walked, with a smile on my face, back to Sheila and paperwork.

I shuffled nervously in the car but feeling comfortable in the familiar feeling of the leather seat behind me. His car smelled like him, which was a very, very good thing; I couldn't help but sigh in contentment. Edward had been early, fifteen minutes early, and fortunately just missed the tail end of my conversation with Rosalie. In rushing however, he'd forgotten to pick up the flowers for Esme, he could be so sweet.

I thought back to what had happened when I got home from work to change and grimaced. I was so angry at Rosalie when I'd called, I couldn't get through to her last night which was why I'd tried again today. She really didn't have any idea how upset I was by her little stunt, I admit, if Edward had reacted the way she'd expected, I'd be singing her praises and be building a shrine in her honour. But unfortunately, he didn't throw me up against a wall and kiss me senseless; apparently that's what any _normal _guy would've done.

It didn't bother me that I was so attracted to someone who wasn't considered 'normal' by Rosalie. Who the hell would I be to judge people? I'm not exactly conventional.

I also explained to her that had security bothered to search the box _before _it was supposed to be delivered to me, that I could have lost my job, or if it was sent to someone else, the embarrassment I would face. It was bad enough that Edward saw all of that, let alone somebody I didn't know.

Her apologies however, fell on deaf ears; I'd heard enough of that already today and just didn't want to have to process it all. I told her I'd speak to her soon and we left it at that.

Of course I was so deep in my own thoughts that I didn't hear or feel Edward getting in the car next to me, which meant I screamed and almost jumped out of my skin when I felt his hand on my arm.

"Hey, it's only me. You ok?" I expected my thumping heartbeat to return to normal but when he started rubbing his fingers over my arm I realised it was going to happen. Instead of a frantic thumping I was now maintaining a faster than usual flutter which left strange feelings in my chest.

How can he still make me feel like this?

"Yeah just hungry, or tired, sorry."

"Don't apologise, I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's fine. I'm fine." He started the engine and the purr of the engine reached my ears and we started our journey.

"You look really beautiful." I couldn't help but giggle.

"What?"

"You already said that. Twice."

"Yeah, well it's still true, and I'll probably say it again, just to remind you."

_I wish you'd tell me that everyday._

What? Did I still want Edward like that? Even after the way he'd been this week, after how much I'd worried and cried over the things he said. I couldn't just forget about all of that.

But I knew I would. I knew if Edward told me what I wanted to hear, that I'd open up to him eagerly, I couldn't help myself. There was no-one I'd ever felt such a pull to. Even while he isolated himself this week, I wanted to go to him, just to be near him, to hear his voice, his _real _voice, not the harsh tones of before.

I wanted so desperately to believe that I could trust in him, but I also wanted him to know how I felt about him. I knew I couldn't just come out and say it, but I wanted to give him some indication. In truth, he'd never said that he _didn't _feel the same way about me anymore, quite the opposite.

An idea popped into my head and quickly transformed into a plan as to not only what I was going to say, but more importantly, _how _I was going to say it.

I sat back in quiet satisfaction and when Edward asked me what I was thinking I shook my head to clear it.

"What happened this week? What's with all the new clothes?"

I thought back to my horribly failed attempt at 'seduction' and shivered. It was embarrassing and I didn't want to think about it.

"Nothing, it was stupid."

"But why? I don't understand."

"Look I really don't want to talk about it ok? Just drop it."

Silence engulfed the car and I couldn't stand it.

"Can you put a CD on, or the radio?"

"Of course. Newton Faulkner alright?" I smiled at that, at least his music, if not clothes appreciation was close to mine.

"Yes please, I love him."

I could have sworn I heard him mumble something like 'lucky bastard' under his breath but I didn't have any time to ask him before 'I Took It Out On You' filled the car.

I let my head rest on the back of the seat and listen to the sound of Newton's words. I laughed at how ironic the song was, what with me being here with Edward, after the week we'd had.

_Of all the people in the world  
I took it out on you.  
Even after all the things you've done for me  
What a thing to do._

You don't let me down,  
Don't let me down,  
But I let you down it's true.

But in the end you'll be my friend  
No matter what I do.

I took it,  
I took it,  
I took it out on you.  
I took it out on you.

I'm sorry for the things I said  
I didn't mean them at all.  
The one who's close and means the most  
And never lets me fall.

I'm such a fool,  
I'm such a fool  
I didn't let you know  
How bad it felt  
When you were trying to help  
And I would just tell you where to go.

I took it,  
I took it,  
I took it out on you.  
I took it out on you.

Now that it's done;  
Unforgiven.  
I don't know why  
I find it so hard to say.  
Now that it's done  
Unforgiven  
I'll make it up to you  
I'd take all the blame.

I took it,  
I took it,  
I took it out on you.  
I took it out on you.

I took it,  
I took it,  
I took it out on you.  
I took it out on you.

As the song finished his hand reached over and grasped mine, implication thick in his actions. He hadn't just picked that song for no reason.

"You're real subtle."

"You told me I couldn't say 'sorry' anymore. I thought this was a good idea."

"It was."

The rest of the album played and we sat in silence, it was nice to not be expected to have to say anything. I was enjoying the tranquillity.

That is until the car pulled up on the drive and I heard Esme's voice scolding Carlisle.

"Cardboard goes in the _blue _bin Carlisle, for recycling. It's not difficult honey."

"What does it matter anyway?"

"Of _course _it matters. We have to do our bit for the environment. Oh Bella honey you're here. Edward sweetheart would you get Bella's bag please?"

"Sure thing Mom."

Edward helped me out of the car seeing as it was so low down and I shivered at the close contact.

"Hey Esme. Is he misbehaving again?" For someone so petite, she was surprisingly strong and I laughed when she pulled me into a hug.

"Like you wouldn't believe, fool needs to go back to work."

"It was packaging love, so I put it in the bin."

"Well it needs to go in the recycling bin."

"Yes love."

"Papa C why are you being difficult? You know you're supposed to just smile and nod."

"And don't I know it BB. You hungry? Esme made lamb tonight; you look like you could do with a second helping."

"I'm fine Carlisle."

"Bet you've heard that before." He was so cheeky, even in his forties, but I was used to it.

"Dad! Shut up." Edward sounded annoyed and it was hot as hell.

"It's true Edward; our BB's a right catch." Cue blush.

"Papa C, catch? Really?" I struggled and failed to hold in a laugh.

"Ignore him Bella, I do."

"It's ok Edward. I'm flattered Carlisle."

"Dinner's ready!" I used my stick to navigate up the familiar steps and smiled when I entered the kitchen; the smell of Esme's cooking was something else entirely.

As usual, the table conversation consisted of asking me and Edward about work, Carlisle talking about his week at the golf course and Esme telling me about the community project she was funding and corrdinating. Of course she had to wait until I'd lulled myself into a false sense of security before she started talking about her favourite topic - my love life.

"So Bella, are you seeing anyone?"

"Mom, Bella probably doesn't want to talk about -" Edward was quick to rush to my defence, but it also gave me the perfect opportunity to implement my plan.

"Kind of, I mean I met someone." As soon as I spoke I recognised the sound of Edward coughing loudly.

I knew I couldn't say to Carlisle and Esme that I was hopelessly attached to their son, but I wanted to let Edward know how I felt. I knew he'd understand who I was talking about, this way I could tell him, in my own way that he was forgiven. Maybe we'd be able to forget about this whole thing and start over.

"Oh Bella, honey that's fantastic! I'm so excited; you have to tell me everything. What's his name and what's he like, where did you two meet?"

"Esme sweetheart, give BB a chance to answer, don't overload her."

"Carlisle don't ruin my fun. This is just so exciting." I fully expected her to start clapping her hands and come over to hug me.

"He's just someone I met at work, and he's kind of amazing. I really like him. Obviously I don't know what he looks like but I don't really care about that anyway." I thought back to when Edward had taken me to our spot behind the old chapel, and when he had me over for dinner at his place. He _was _amazing and if this week hadn't happened, I'd be more than willing to gush about him all night.

_Isabella Swan, did you just say 'gush'?_

"Well why didn't you call me? You know I'm always encouraging you to go out and meet someone."

"I don't know, I guess it just happened. I kind of lose track of time when I'm with him."

I laughed at just how true that was as I remembered my four hour long lunch break.

"Oh Bella! Has he taken you out on a date yet, have you been out this week?"

"We had dinner last week which was wonderful, but I haven't been able to spend any time with him this week. He's been away but he just got back today." I sighed in contentment. It really did feel like Edward had been absent this past week, and I really felt like I'd only got _my _Edward back today. Esme was squealing now and I laughed at how excited she was.

"We're so happy for you Bella, it's about time you met someone."

"Excuse me, I'm not feeling well." Edward's tone was flat and lifeless and I immediately put my hand out next to me to touch his thigh. I immediately regretted it when he pulled his leg away like I'd burned him.

"What's the matter?" I whispered softly to him and hoped he'd tell me what was wrong. I thought he'd be happy to know how I felt about him, and I'd see the permanent return of my Edward.

"Edward honey what's wrong? We haven't even had dessert yet."

"I'm not hungry." I heard him pull out his chair, his quick footsteps quieting as he walked out into the hall and up the stairs.

"I'm sorry Bella I don't know what's gotten into him."

"Carlisle he probably had a hard week. I remember when you used to come home grouchy, he just needs to unwind. Leave him be."

After that I wasn't able to concentrate. My mind kept wandering to the man upstairs and what was wrong with him. What had I said that was wrong? He must know I was talking about him. He was the only man I spoke to outside of work, and I never had any time to see anyone else. The rest of dinner was awkward, I think they were trying their best to cover up the fact that they knew something was _definitely _wrong. Edward wasn't sick; he'd been fine a few minutes before.

As quickly as I could without seeming rude, I went upstairs with the excuse of feeling tired, bidding Carlisle and Esme goodnight. The truth was I was now extremely awake; I had to remember to turn left at the top of the large staircase instead of right, to go to Edward's room. I knocked quietly, just in case he really was asleep and so I didn't alert Esme to the fact that I was talking with Edward. After a few moments of tapping my feet nervously I began to turn around when I heard the door opening to his room.

"Bella."

"Hey Edward, are you ok? You just…left."

"Oh I'm great, just great. After hearing those things I just feel _so _much better." His voice was gruff and sarcastic. He sounded so upset.

"I thought you'd be happy."

"Happy? How could I _sit there _and listen to that? You just confirmed my _worst _fears. How the hell do you _think _I feel?"

"I don't understand, I thought this is what you wanted."

He let out a harsh laugh and the raspy voice was back.

"Hearing _that _was the last thing _in the world _I wanted to hear."

I was about to speak when he interrupted.

"You know it all makes sense now, the new clothes, the shoes, everything."

"Ok, I'm not following you."

"You shouldn't have to change for someone to be good to you, you're so beautiful Bella. After all the times I told you, you still wanted something else. He doesn't deserve you if you have to change who you are." His voice was small and I was on the verge of tears, I _hated _hearing his voice like this, it made me feel rotten.

"Look I know the whole thing was stupid but -"

"You know what the worst thing is? I was really holding out on the hope that you still felt _something_ for me, even though I was a dick. I guess I was wrong."

"Edward, you don't understand -"

"Please, _please, _just _don't._ I really can't take it."

"You're not listening to me -"

"I've heard enough, you made it quite clear at dinner that my hopes were for _nothing_. Goodnight Bella."

"_Edward." _By the time the words had come out, he'd slammed his door and I was left, my hand raised in the air facing his door. I needed to explain to him, I needed him to know the truth. Of course it didn't come across right, I was such a coward to not be able to tell him the way he should hear it. I had to be sly and poke around the issue, just like I accused him of doing. He deserved to hear how I felt, no _feel, _about him. I resigned myself to talking to him in the morning, I was upset at myself and I knew if I tried anymore with him tonight it wouldn't go well.

He left. I came down to breakfast this morning and he was gone, Carlisle said he'd been very eager to leave and after a quick explanation to him about work and someone called Emmett, he'd left.

I knew I had to make this right, I just _had to. _I was so busy being angry with Edward that I didn't think about how my own actions could be misconstrued. Of course he would think that I was dressing up for someone else, I was just selfish and wanted more, but from _him. _

I knew that there wasn't anyone else for me, but had I been reassuring him enough of that. I knew the answer was no. I had fears about not being adequate for him, but was it ridiculous to wonder whether _he _had those same fears. Apparently not. Edward is so confident and sure of himself, it'd never crossed my mind that he would need me to tell him how I felt; I thought I was blindingly obvious.

Carlisle drove me back to my apartment around midday and I was silent the entire way. He knew something was wrong and I was glad he didn't make me talk about it. He wished me good luck with my 'man' and promised that Esme would call soon to arrange another dinner.

I left a message on Edward's voicemail, the only thing I could think to do that might make him understand. I sat for what felt like hours trying to think of the right thing to say but I ended up rambling but hopefully setting him straight. It was much easier than saying it to him in person.

"_Edward? It's Bella. I'm probably the last person you want to hear from right now but that's because I didn't get to finish what I was saying last night. It's you Edward…only you.__ Last night at dinner I was referring to you. I wanted to tell you how I felt. It's only ever been you, there really isn't anyone else. Last weekend I asked Rosalie to get me some things for work that made me look more…feminine. I wanted you to_ want_ me Edward, in the most primal way. I guess I really screwed that up huh? I don't want you to think that I didn't want you, not for a second, even if you were an idiot this week. So, I guess that's it, now you know everything. Shit, I feel like an idiot, but you deserve to know ok. Call me or something, bye."_

I waited a long time for him to call me back, holding my blackberry in my hand like it held the answers to all the worlds' biggest questions. I gave up after a while, ate my dinner and went to bed. I felt like hitting myself on the head repeatedly for letting things get this way. It was hours since I had called Edward, with no response, maybe he decided I wasn't worth the effort, I wouldn't blame him. Sleep came to me easier than the previous night and I soon fell into a deep slumber.

I woke up gasping because I could hear frantic knocking on the door. Whoever it was they were loud and impatient. I got up to make my way to the door.

_Oh God! Bella what are you doing?_ _It's the middle of the night and you're getting up to let some psycho into your apartment._

Sheila wasn't here as I'd left her with Angela; I had no protection if this was an intruder. I gingerly stepped towards the door but stopped short when I heard _his voice. _

"Bella please let me in, I left my cell at home and I just listened to your message. I _have _to see you. I'm so sorry, just _please _let me in. I need to see you."

No way. This must be a dream.

I pinched myself, hard, and I was still awake, and my arm stung, so I _couldn't _be dreaming. I swung open the door and almost feel into Edward who was right up against the door.

"_Bella." _My name was fervent on his lips and he pulled me in close to him, running his hands over my back, his lips in my hair. I was speechless. I wrapped my arms around him with the same force and sighed when I felt the sheer _perfection _of his body against mine_. _

"Baby I am _so _sorry. Is it true, did you really mean everything you said?" He sounded like he was so happy and out of breath, like he'd been running.

"Yes. There's no-one else."

"I was such an _idiot_. I wasted so much time. Please forgive me, I was so stupid."

"I was too." He seemed to be struggling with something. His hands were holding me extremely close to him and as before, I could feel everything, and I mean _everything. _I was in an old tatty t-shirts and boy shorts but there were parts of Edward that seemed to have a very strong…_approval _to my outfit. I ran my hands up his chest and tangled them in his hair, just like I'd wanted to do all week.

His lips were at my ear and I could hear and feel his laboured breathing against my neck, making me shiver in response.

"Cold?"

"No." I whimpered when his hands left my waist but smiled when I felt them cupping my face, like he was holding the most precious thing in the world.

"I really need to kiss you now."

"Good because you're not coming in if you -" My words were cut off by the most incredible sensation of having his soft, warm lips on mine.

_Fucking finally! Thank you, thank you so fucking much!_

_Is that hallelujah bells I hear? Yes it fucking is!_

My hands fisted in his shirt and if it were possible, pulled him even closer to me. His lips were firm on mine but I was just as eager. Of course I didn't know what the hell I was doing but he _had _to keep touching me. I leaned into him more and he moved his right hand to cup the back of my neck, the thumb of his left hand drawing slow circles on my cheek.

I almost melted when I tasted him, it was just so _good. _His smell was filling my head, his hands holding me to him and his erection pressing into my stomach deliciously.

"You taste so _good."_

I pulled away regrettably just for a second when oxygen became a necessity but as soon as I was ready I tightened my grip on his hair, only to feel the tip of his tongue tracing my lips. I opened my mouth eagerly and wantonly, ready to accept anything he was willing to offer.

_Fuck me._

If I thought his lips tasted good it was nothing compared to his tongue and the rest of his mouth. His tongue touched mine and I almost exploded, the throbbing between my legs was incredible and I wanted nothing more than to rub myself against his enormous bulge. Our mouths moved in a kind of dance I could never have imagined before this, I never would have guessed that something like this could feel _so good. _ I was about to pull away again as I felt my back hit the inside of my door when he pulled away.

"Bella baby we have to stop. I can't, oh fuck; I want you so _badly, m_ore than anything." His voice was husky and breathless, mirroring my own. To prove his point he pressed his lower half against mine and that only served to intensify the ache I felt.

"Stay with me." I said it on impulse, but couldn't regret my words. I needed him with me.

"Are you sure?" He sounded excited and cautious at the same time.

"I'm sure about you." I pulled him through the door as he captured my lips once again.

**So…?**

**Remember****, 300+ reviews for an update. Hopefully I didn't disappoint anyone with this.**

**Comment / questions / suggestions are always welcome.**

**Love to you all.**


	16. At Last

**Oh. My. Goodness. You guys are incredible, I was blown away by how quickly we got to 300 reviews, and I'm talking 24 hours here. I'm so grateful to all of you that took the time to tell me what you thought; I really, really appreciate it. **

**This week I'm hiking with family, but I managed to find a small café in the middle of nowhere to post this to you. You guys deserve the update; I'll post the next chapter in less than a week.**

**Enjoy…**

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright August 2010.**_

_Last time…_

"_Stay with me." I said it on impulse, but couldn't regret my words. I needed him with me._

"_Are you sure?" He sounded excited and cautious at the same time._

"_I'm sure about you." I pulled him through the door as he captured my lips once again._

**Chapter 16 – At Last**

_Oh God__, if only that dream were true. _

I felt an unusual heaviness in my limbs as I tried to stretch, as if something was holding me back. Did I go running yesterday? No, no I definitely did not. I was warm too, like hot, verging on clammy. Surely, my t-shirt and shorts would not make me feel this warm. I knew I had only laid my sheet down last night foregoing my usual duvet.

"Morning baby." I shifted my whole body with lightening speed trying to locate the origin of that beautiful voice. Where did that come from? It sounds close…

_You are__ surely mad; _imagining _his voice outside of your dreams is somewhat pathetic._

Oh, wow…

Then it all made sense. The warmth, the constraints, it was his_ body, _and his_ arms. _

_He is__ holding me._

Oh, God last night was real. Lasts night's dream, was not a dream. He _is_ here with me.

_Edward Cullen is in my bed._

"And he's really very happy about it."

_Shit. Why can__ I not just keep my thoughts to myself?_

"Last night wasn't a dream." I felt I needed to vocalise my conclusions to confirm them to myself.

"No." His arms tightened around me and it took me a couple of seconds to respond, I was still half-asleep. It was an incredible feeling; I had to squeeze my eyes shut to keep from becoming overly emotional. It would not do well to start crying _now. _

"You stayed." My voice was quiet as my lips murmured against his shoulder.

"Of course I did." He placed small feather like kisses against the side of my neck, I immediately felt my pulse quicken, and the muscles in my stomach tighten.

Then it dawned on me…

"You're real, you're here and you want me, just like I want you." It really was too much then, the realization that what I had said was actually true. I felt a couple of treacherous tears escape down my cheek.

He placed my hand directly over his heart and I could feel the light thumping, such a beautiful rhythm, and a physical confirmation to my concerns.

"Always. I'll always be here and I will _always _want you. Oh, baby please don't cry. What's wrong?"

He wiped the droplets of moisture off with his lips and pulled us both up into a sitting position so I was straddling his thighs.

"Happy tears, sorry this is just kind of…amazing." I felt myself blush over his kisses.

"I know exactly what you mean. Waking up next to you this morning was something else."

I shifted forward so I could touch his face and gasped when I felt _it_, directly_ between my legs. _

_Just like last night._

"Yeah, sorry, I mean _this _pretty much happens whenever I think about you or see you. I can't really help it."

"Don't be sorry." As I finished speaking, he shifted his hips upwards into mine and I sighed in satisfaction.

_There are certainly worse ways to start your Sunday._

My right hand remained on his face while my left wandered through his morning stubble around to the back of his head. I stroked the soft hair and gently began to scrape my nails against his scalp, feeling the rest of his wild mane under my fingertips.

_Just like having my very own lion. _

He started humming when I added my right hand to his head, continuing my lazy strokes.

"Mmmmm that feels so good." He pressed one hand onto my thigh and the other cupped the back of my neck. He pulled me towards him and just before his lips touched mine, I pulled back.

"Bella what's wrong?" His hands moved to my sides and rubbed them reassuringly.

"Morning breath." I blurted out my answer before I clapped my hand over my mouth.

"I don't care. I want to kiss you again." He pulled me forward again but I refused to give in.

"Why? I mean it was all kinds of incredible for me but I mean I don't have a lot of…experience, per say." I blushed at my admittance. Of course, I was awful; I had _no idea _what I was doing.

"What do you mean?"

_Say it, get it over with. Just have it out. _

"You were…my, I mean, last night was, my first kiss. So I guess it must have been pretty awful for you." I ducked my head in embarrassment and wanted to cover my face with my hands. I wasn't able to wallow for long because Edward tipped my chin up with his finger and pressed his sweet lips softly to mine.

This kiss was different; it was tender and smouldering as opposed to the burning passion of last night. He still tasted just as good and I didn't even try to resist him when he traced my bottom lip with his tongue. I opened my mouth to his and he simultaneous pulled me up to be level with him. When the tip of his tongue touched mine, I melted even further into his embrace and wrapped my own arms more securely around his shoulders. Our lips moved in a synchronisation so perfect it was as if I was _meant _to kiss this man. I moaned as he nibbled on my full upper lip and I sucked his lower one into my mouth, revelling in the taste. His hands settled between my lower back and my bum as he pulled away and rested his head in the crook of my neck.

"Thank you Bella."

"For what?"

"For letting _me_ be your first kiss, for not giving that to someone else. It was so…perfect, _you _were perfect. No fumbling teenager could have appreciated that."

"Well then it's a good thing I didn't interest any teenage boys." I giggled internally at his praise.

_Well at least I could do something right._

"Impossible."

"Hardly, I mean, who would have wanted to date the awkward, quiet blind girl?"

"I would say me, but you would have been far too good for me, I was such an ass in high school."

"Was? As in _past _tense. Are you _sure_ about that?"

"Oh Isabella, now you're in trouble." He pushed me onto my back on the bed and lay still above me. My breathing quickened and I smiled when I felt his chest touch mine.

His _naked _chest, I might add.

"Really Mr Cullen, and what are you going to do about it?" My giggling interrupted my speech. I _loved _this side of him, he was playful and carefree.

"I might just keep you prisoner, right here, for an indefinite amount of time." His voice was softer now, almost a whisper in my ear.

"I thought you said I was in _trouble._ Sounds like I'll enjoy my punishment."

"You will if I get my way." I shivered at his sensual words and moaned when he drew my earlobe into his mouth and sucked on it gently.

"Oh, _Edward_." Hyperventilation was a distinct possibility at this point so I tried to concentrate on anything but his mouth on my ear, his teeth lightly scraping the flesh as his tongue washed over the soft skin.

"Isabella, will you be my girlfriend?" I didn't realise he had stopped so I jumped at his words.

_Did he__ just say that? I mean did he just ask _me.

My hands stroked the stubble on his cheeks and I found myself enjoying the slightly rough feel to it. There was a nice contrast between that and the softness of his hair. I really did not have anything to say that wouldn't result in me rambling like an idiot so I just continued running my fingers over his features. His angular jaw, his incredibly soft lips and the smooth skin of his nose, all of it was wonderful, so beautiful.

"You know, um, an answer, _any _answer would be good."

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Silly Edward, of course it's a yes." I pulled his face down to mine and gave him a small kiss on his lovely lips.

"Good, I mean I wasn't going to let you go until you said yes anyway so it was good you didn't put up a fight."

"Agreed." He leaned down to capture my top lip and just as he was about to deepen the kiss I pulled back.

"No fair, I need more Bella kisses." I laughed at his boyish sounding voice and imagined him poking his bottom lip out in a pout.

"I need to brush my teeth."

"Oral hygiene is overrated."

"That's bullshit. Let me up I need to get to the bathroom."

"Now we can't have that. I'd have to let you go, and that's just no good." Before I knew what was going on I felt the weight of his body leave my own and his arms wrap around my shoulders and behind my knees. He lifted me and carried me across my bedroom, into the bathroom before I could protest.

"What are you doing? Edward you can't _carry _me."

"Sure can. Boyfriend law allows this stuff without warning, it's the rules Bella, and I know how _strict _you are about rules." He spoke with a mock seriousness and I in turn tried to keep to keep from giggling at his words.

"Boyfriend law huh? And what else does that entail?" He set me down in front of the bathroom counter to stand behind me.

"Oh I can't tell you, it would ruin all your surprises." His hands moved to my hips and around the front to my stomach, pulling me back flush against his chest.

"I don't like surprises."

"You'll like my ones." I began brushing my teeth and almost choked when I felt his erection growing against my back. Turns out, he was right after all, _that _does happen a lot.

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?" The reality of his semi-nakedness was never far from my mind. How could it be?

"You tore my clothes off last night in a fit of animalistic passion." He bent his body low over mine and whispered in my ear, his breath tickling the outside of it, his hands gripping me tightly. I smiled at his words and wiped the lingering toothpaste from my mouth.

I must have given him a questionable look in the mirror because he chuckled and pulled me to him in a warm hug.

"I didn't want to leave you alone last night, I _couldn't._ I usually don't wear anything to bed but I thought I should keep my boxers on. Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"No but you should be, I mean, all this, it's _a lot to take in._ I just don't want to move too fast."

"Bella, I will _never _try to lead you to do something you're not comfortable with."

"I know." I wasn't lying, I _knew _Edward wouldn't try to hurt me like that, or do anything to me against my will. The little that had happened between us just felt like so much. Every touch, every sensation seemed to be multiplied because it was all new for me, everything was happening for the first time.

"You asked me to stay with you last night. I promise I kept my hands to myself, which is more than I can say for you." His voice was teasing and playful as his hands rubbed my sides.

_Oh God. __What did I do, or say?_

"Oh no, I'm sorry, I think I just have a very active subconscious. Did I make _you _uncomfortable?" I waited for his answer, feeling mortified that I apparently couldn't control myself.

"Hell no! Do you know how _sexy _it is to know that you dream about _me_? Do _not _feel embarrassed sweetheart."

"I feel like such an idiot."

"Why? You're always in _my _dreams, and I'm not ashamed of it."

"Ok, I guess that's not so bad then." I felt better about my admission and relaxed into his arms, sighing as he placed a kiss on the top of my head.

"We look really good together."

"What?"

"I can see us in the mirror, we just fit perfectly. I don't think I'll ever let you go." His voice was light but I could hear the seriousness underneath his words, I felt the same. I just felt so _safe _with his arms wrapped around me, his lips at my temple, fluttering small kisses over me.

I nodded in agreement with him but my grumbling stomach soon interrupted our peaceful moments. I felt my face colour in embarrassment and I winced as another grumble followed soon after.

"I guess that's the cue for me to feed you. Do you have anything in the fridge?"

"Edward you don't have to cook; besides I need to take a shower first, I'll grab something later."

"Yeah right, like I'm going to pass up a chance to cook my _girlfriend _breakfast." I beamed up at him as he referenced our new status. Edward Cullen is my boyfriend. I wanted to jump up and down on the spot, or even better, my bed.

"That sounds nice, I like that."

"Well you did say you liked my cooking before."

"True, but not that, the other part." He was purposely trying to get me to say it - I knew it. I also knew that he was just as happy about it as I was, I could hear it in his voice.

"Oh you mean the part where you're my girlfriend. You know, that _does _sound good."

"It certainly does." He swept me up into his arms so we were nose to nose and captured my lips with his hungrily. His hands were holding me up underneath my bum and the feeling of his hands squeezing me _there _made me feel gooey on the inside. I knew I needed to stop before I lost my rationality so I pulled away breathlessly and rested my forehead against his. My thoughts were jumbled and I felt dizzy with happiness.

"On second thoughts, I could just have a _Bella breakfast_. Tastes a lot better than anything I can make." My eyebrows shot up and his hands tightened on my bottom.

"You know you can't just _say _things like that and expect me to be able to function. I need to shower and you need to put some clothes on." I poked him in the chest to prove my point and as I tried to pull away, he captured my hand with his and began kissing my fingers.

"Mmmmm, clothing is overrated." His voice was so smooth and low.

"_Edward."_ There was no way I could be annoyed with him but did he have to be so damn irresistible? It wasn't fair.

"_Bella._" He uttered my name reverently and placed lingering kisses on the insides of my wrist and palm.

"Shower, I want to shower." I tried, in vain, to pull my hand away from his mouth. This wasn't doing anything for my self control. All I wanted to do was forget about cleanliness and food and drag him back to my bed. I couldn't see that he would object, in any way.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" I could hear the smile in his voice as his hand circled my hip and pulled me into him. Sneaky bastard knew what he was doing.

"Y-yes." I tried to put as much conviction in my voice as I could, but clearly, it wasn't working. I put one of my hands on is chest to push him lightly away. It was incredibly hard not to run my free hand up and down his muscular chest. There was a light dusting of hair underneath my fingertips and I wondered how much lower it would continue. Thankfully, just as I was about to yank him towards me he pulled away but not before placing one small, sweet kiss on the back of my hand.

"How chivalrous of you sir."

"Indeed. Does my lady require assistance in the shower?" He adopted an awful English accent but I couldn't help but find him adorable. His words stirred something in me and I was very close to accepting his offer, if only he knew.

"Cool it Casanova, I've been showering all by myself for a while now. Get cleaned up and come back to feed me."

"Yes ma'am." With one last kiss he walked out and I heard him gathering up his clothes and jog out of the apartment, closing the door as he went. I leaned, gasping against the shower door, incredulous over my unusual morning.

_If this__ really was a dream, it was my best one to date. _

It was hard to believe Edward was real at all. Everything he had made me feel was just too fantastic, was it like this for everyone? I wondered how people functioned _at all_ if they had someone waiting for them at home to make them feel just like Edward made me feel.

I showered quickly and changed into my yoga pants and gym shirt. I had no idea what I'd be doing today but I knew I'd have to do some stretching, I hadn't done any this week, hadn't even thought about it. The memory that a couple of weeks ago I had decided I would force myself to make some time for yoga on a Sunday reoccurred to me.

_Well it seemed like a good idea at the time._

Remembering Edward's desire to cook breakfast for gave me a renewed sense of hunger and I prayed I had some reasonable ingredients. I went to the fridge finding only cheddar cheese and milk. Oh well, it could be worse. I jumped when I heard eager knocking at the door.

I smiled to myself as I skipped to my front door; there was no point even trying to hide how eager I was. Of all the things to drive him away, I didn't think it would be my enthusiasm. He greeted me with warm kisses as I swung open the door.

_I could get used to this._

He moved through the doorway and scooped me up in his arms, spinning me around in my hallway. If my life were a musical, I would be breaking out into some joyful number at this point. This kiss was relatively innocent compared to others this morning but it still made my toes tingle and my heart rate increase. He set me down and pressed his lips against mine once more, I could feel his own smile against my face.

"What was that for?"

Not that I'm complaining _at all._

"Because I _can._ You don't know how long I've waited to do that."

"Do what? Kiss me?"

"Kiss you, hold you, touch you, it's all worth the wait." Him kissing my neck, pulling me closer to him and running his hand up my side, punctuated each word. I gasped when his hand grazed the side of my clothed breast and he froze, his hand half cupping my soft mound.

"Is this ok?" He moved his hand slightly over to the side so more of my breast was filling his hand; his movements were slow and careful, as if I would dart away if he moved too quickly. I nodded my assent and he sighed in relief, moving his hand more firmly against my chest and rubbing his thumb in slow circles around my nipple. I leaned against the countertop at the entrance to the kitchen, I wasn't confident that my knees would hold me up.

"So soft, oh _baby_ you feel so good." He murmured his thoughts against my neck, his words sounding so sexy in his accent.

_Who am I kidding? Everything sounds sexy with his accent._

I felt like I was on fire. The throbbing between my legs that I associate with Edward was frustrating and only increased when he added his other hand to my neglected breast. I wondered how his hands would feel if I were not wearing a top, the feeling of his skin rubbing the material against me was tantalizing but I was so tempted to just feel _him._ I was sure his fingers against my nipples, hands cupping my breasts would be the closest thing to heaven I could imagine.

Unsurprisingly he was hard on my stomach and I had to still myself when I realized I'd been rubbing against him, trying to ease the ache at the apex of my legs. I was breathing heavily as he placed open-mouthed kisses at the V of my top. His stubble against my jaw and neck tickled me and I squeezed my legs together to try not to laugh. That would _so _not be appropriate right now.

As his head lowered, I could feel his soft hair tickling my ear, adding to the sensations, I couldn't take it anymore and a couple of peals of laughter escaped my lips. His hands moved to my hips as he pulled back. I reached up to stroke his jaw and he seemed to lean his face into my hand.

"Something funny Bella?"

"Your stubble and mane was tickling me." I rubbed my thumb over his jaw line and wrapped my hands around his strong neck, smiling at the feel of his strong pulse point underneath my fingertips.

"My _mane_? Are you insinuating that I'm some kind of animal?" He nuzzled his face playfully against my neck, his stubble tickling me again as I placed a kiss on the side of his neck.

"You're like a lion, _my _lion. Your hair's so wild, I love it." To prove my point he growled against my neck and nipped then licked the spot underneath my ear. I jolted in his arms causing him to laugh as he picked up the bag he'd brought round and led me into the kitchen.

"So what does my _lioness _want for breakfast?" He started getting things out of the bag and by the sounds of it, rifling through my cupboards for things.

"I don't know, surprise me."

"I thought you didn't like surprises."

"When it involves you and food, I'm open to them. You do your thing in the kitchen, I need to do some stretching, call me when you're done." I didn't wait for his answer as I moved into the middle of my living room to the yoga mat that I had laid down permanently.

I knew he'd be able to see me, there was only the kitchen island counter separating the kitchen from the living room. I was fortunate to have such an open plan apartment. Things would be difficult otherwise. I began by rolling my neck and stretching my arms above my head, rolling my shoulders backwards and forwards, feeling all the tension begin to leave. Keeping my legs straight and my back flat, I leaned down to touch my hands flat to the floor, forgetting all about Edward being in the same room and focusing on the slight pull in my legs. As my hands touched the floor, I wrapped my hands around my ankles and bent so my face was against my knees when I heard a clatter of what sounded like metal on the floor.

"Holy shit." Oh God, maybe Edward had cut himself, I should have offered to help.

"Are you ok, what happened?" I didn't get a response but I also couldn't tell if he was in any pain.

"Nothing, I'm fine, you carry on."

"Ok, if you're sure." I held my position for a little longer and continued with a couple of repeats. Listening to the resumed sound of Edward preparing breakfast I began to get into position for a downward dog pose. I lunged backwards, keeping my feet together, my palms flat on the floor and lifted my bum in the air, drawing my head towards the floor. In the first few seconds, there was an almost uncomfortable tightness but then I felt myself settle into the pose. It was encouraging knowing that I could still do this without practise.

I continued uninterrupted for a while longer, feeling better and better as I carried on with my routine stretches.

The arrival of his footsteps alerted me to his presence and I could feel him standing behind me. I slowly brought myself up to stand properly and reached behind me to see if he was ok.

"Edward are you ok? Did you cut yourself?"

"Do that again." His voice was husky and I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"What?" Utterly confused, I probably sounded like an idiot.

"That thing you just did, again."

"Oh, a downward dog, sure." I complied easily and resumed my previous position, only to feel the flat of his palm against my bum cheek. I almost fell forward at the feel of him touching me _there _and struggled to maintain my posture.

"Um, what are you doing?"

_Not that I'm not enjoying having your hands on me in any way, but how the hell am I supposed to concentrate? _

"Nothing, carry on." His voice was husky and deep. Was he…_aroused _from watching me do this?

Well fuck me, it certainly didn't _feel _like nothing. His palm began moving in large circles over my cheek, kneading the flesh as I tried to forget about how he was making me feel. His actions confirmed my suspicions; he was enjoying this just as much as I was.

I shifted my feet to deepen the bend and as I lowered my body once more to the floor, his hand slid from my bottom, across my lower back to underneath my yoga top. His fingers explored the skin underneath my top and began to move back up to _underneath my yoga pants. _

_Good Lord I am only one woman, this __is not fair. _

I forced myself to pull back up allowing him to, reluctantly, remove his hand. I can't believe he was getting _excited _over seeing me do this, and to top it off, trying to knock my concentration. Well if he wanted to be like that, two could play that game.

"Do you mind helping me with one of the positions?"

"Of course not. Does it involve you bending and stretching?" I nodded and trailed my fingers over his t-shirt clad chest, explaining what I needed him to do.

"Usually I need a wall for this, but I figured that since I've got you here, you should make yourself useful. Just stand there and don't move, I'm going from a back bend to a crab, you'll see."

"Always glad to be of service." I smiled as I stood with my back to him, I purposely put a couple of paces space between us, and I thought it'd be enough. I stood with my feet together and reached my hands backward to his shoulders, feeling the muscles in my back working already. Once I was confident enough I began to walk my hands down to his pectorals and down his hard, toned stomach.

"Bella, what are you, what are you doing?"

"You'll see. Just stay still." I felt mean teasing him like this but he could not just _handle _me like that and not expect me to get excited. Maybe he would like a taste of his own medicine.

The bend felt tighter now and I slowed the movement of my hands as I moved past his hips, _accidently _grazing the side of my right hand against the bulge in his jeans that I knew would be there. His own groan caused me to sigh in satisfaction.

_Payback is so very sweet._

I continued as if nothing had happened past his thighs, knees and then ankles. Once I reached the floor, I adjusted my body, fitting my hands into a comfortable position and arching my back fully. I was glad my top was tight fitting; otherwise, he'd have gotten a very good view of my naked breasts. Not that he would have minded.

"See, now that wasn't _hard _was it." I don't know where my new confidence was coming from, but I liked it. I felt so free to be able to talk to him like this, to say exactly what I was thinking when it came into my head.

"No you're right, it was _painfully hard_. You don't know what you do to me." He moaned his words and I _almost _felt bad for teasing him, almost.

"Probably the same thing you do to me." As I finished talking, I felt him bend over and lift the bottom of my yoga top up slightly. He placed kisses both sides of my belly button and then to my complete surprise, swirled his tongue inside it. I could not help but collapse at his feet, literally. I was breathless and on the verge of shaking as he scooped me up in his arms, carrying me over to the breakfast stool as if I were a bag of sugar.

"What _are _you?" I still couldn't believe he did _that. _Surely, no other man would be able to affect me as Edward Cullen had.

"Yours love. As you are mine." His words were incredibly sweet and they matched the lingering kiss he gave me on my forehead. His calling me 'love' did funny things to me and I concluded that I really was _made _for him, as he seemed to be made for me. I could live with that.

"Breakfast is served my lady." Back was the cute accent and I giggled as I imagined a man as formidable as Edward scooping into a low bow as he delivered me a bowl of fruit into my hands.

It smelt delicious and I remembered how hungry I had been. I groaned at the sweet taste of the pineapple, the soft flesh of the mango and the crunchy pomegranate seeds.

"You just keep a casual stash of tropical fruits in your fridge for emergencies?" My stash of cheese and eggs was pitiful.

"I like to eat healthy." His mouth was full of food and I laughed at how unusually inarticulate he sounded.

"Sorry this is just, odd, I mean if someone had asked me last week what I'd be doing today it wouldn't be having breakfast with you." I shook my head, still finding it hard to believe that this was _actually happening. _

"Yeah we need to talk about that, you know, last week." He grasped my hand in his and I liked the security of _knowing_ he was there, it wasn't just his voice I was hearing.

"I guess we do." I didn't particularly want to revisit that bad memory that seemed much older than a few days ago, but I knew it was necessary for us to move forward. There could not be any secrets between us.

"Last week was such a mistake, I mean really bad, now I realise I should have _never _acted like that. I had no right to treat you so badly."

"You're right, you didn't. I just didn't understand, I mean I walked into your office Monday morning and you were like a _completely different person._ I couldn't think what I'd done to piss you off so much."

"It wasn't you I was angry at, which is why I should have never spoken to you like that and I know I've said it already, but I am _so sorry." _

"I know you are and I believe you. Just tell me what was wrong." I rubbed my thumb over his hand reassuringly and he squeezed mine in response.

"After we had dinner, after Friday night I wished I'd had the nerve to tell you how I felt, how I _feel, _and more than that, I wished I'd kissed you. It was on my mind all weekend; I couldn't wait until Monday so I could see you properly and not tell you over the phone. As it happened, Mom phoned on Sunday and of course, we got to talking about you. She told me that Dad had spoken to Rosalie Hale to see how you two were getting along. Apparently, according to Carlisle; she took you shopping, which I already knew because I spoke to you, but it was for new clothes to impress some guy at work. It didn't ever cross my mind that she could be talking about me, I automatically assumed that you'd met someone else, and wanted _their _attention."

How could I have been so stupid? I had meant to impress Edward and instead caused him unnecessary pain. I shifted my stool closer to his and rested my head on his shoulder; I gave him a weak smile when he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"So when you arrived to work on Monday I was jealous, and I mean incredibly jealous. You looked amazing; you always do, no matter what you wear. Bella, seeing you dressed like that, the tight skirt, high heels, and silk shirt, it was too much for me to handle. I reacted wrongly, I know that, but my reactions with you are always over the top. Just the thought that you made so much effort for some other guy, who clearly didn't appreciate you as you were, it made me so angry. I really had an amazing time that evening; I'd hoped you felt the same, then seeing you on Monday dressed like that for _someone else._ It was like you were already rejecting me for someone who couldn't possibly _like _you as much as I do. I can't describe how that felt."

"I wanted it to be a surprise, I wanted to waltz into your office and knock you off your feet. That was the idea anyway." I hid my face in his shoulder and looked up as he chuckled.

"Silly girl, you do already. Every. Single. Day. And it has _nothing _to do with what you wear and _everything _to do with _you._ I had to kick myself this morning because I couldn't believe how lucky I was, waking up next to you, being able to kiss you like I want to. I guess you could say it's been a fantasy of mine for a while."

"Me too." I mumbled my words into his shoulder, over the moon at his admission.

"I couldn't stand seeing you everyday, thinking that I didn't have a chance anymore because you were already trying to change yourself for someone else. And that was the thing; I knew it couldn't be me because I told you how beautiful you were, all the time. I thought if you wanted me then you wouldn't feel the need to change and become something different."

"I wanted you to see me as a woman; I wanted to know that you _wanted _me. I've heard so much about all the models and actresses you've been seen with, how gorgeous they all are, I just wanted to be like them, to be comparable."

"There's no comparison. You are worth _so much _more to me than all of them combined. I wish I'd never been like that, maybe it would have been easier for us if I wasn't such an idiot."

"I wouldn't change you. I mean you can say goodbye to the mood swings right now because you _know _there's never been anyone else for me."

"Yeah, I know that _now._ No more mood swings, I don't think I can stay away from you anymore Bella Swan."

"Then don't." I smiled into his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his back and chest.

"I _promise _you that nothing like _that _will happen again baby."

"Good. You need to _talk _to me if you start getting some stupid idea like that in your head again."

"I promise." He sealed his words with a sweet kiss to my temple and I felt infinitely better. Yes we'd both been stupid, in our own ways, but now it was resolved, we were ok again.

"I can't believe you thought I'd sent you underwear. No way would I be brave enough to do that."

"What do you mean? You asked me to _keep a pair!_"

"I know, I was feeling daring, and pissed off. Did you?" I was curious to know his answer.

"Oh yeah, they're in my office drawer, for safe keeping." I kicked him playfully under the table.

"You're such a pervert." I giggled against him and he joined me, both of us laughing in earnest.

"True, but only for you."

"Damn straight Cullen."

"I think I almost went nuclear when I thought you were buying those things to wear for someone else. Just the thought of him, even though technically he didn't exist, seeing you like that, it was unbearable."

"I still can't believe Rosalie did that. I just thought she would have it delivered to the apartment, like all the other stuff. I never imagined she'd try to stir things like that."

"People often do things you don't expect."

"They certainly do, Mr Cullen." I reached up to kiss the side of his neck and squealed when he pulled me around to sit on his lap.

"Mmmmm that's better. Actually the omelette's almost done, hold on a sec." He stood up for a moment and because we were already so close to the cooker, reached around and plated up the rest of breakfast.

"It might be easier if you put me down."

"No need, I'm all done, now scoot back up here." He set the plate down and I shifted back onto his lap. I did not know how I was supposed to eat but Edward would surely have a solution.

"Open up Bella."

"You don't have to feed me, I'm not a chi- holy crow is that a _cheese _omelette I smell?" This boy is good.

"Sure is." I could hear the smugness in his voice but decided to ignore it, there was an Edward cheese omelette up for grabs.

"Ok, feed me. I'm hungry." I opened up and moaned when he placed the fork in my mouth. As soon as I finished chewing his lips were on mine.

"Sharing's fair Bella." As long as he keeps kissing and feeding me, I really _do not mind _sharing.

The rest of the morning continued in much the same way. Him feeding and then kissing me, I decided not to try to reciprocate. Things could get messy otherwise.

We were sitting on my sofa, his head on my lap listening to Nina Simone as I ran my hands slowly through his hair. The doorbell rang and we both jumped, knocked out of our lazy stupor.

"You want me to get it?" Edward was more coordinated than I was so I was glad he asked.

"Sure, thank you babe." I smiled at my new pet name for him. It was that or Leo, because he had recently confirmed my suspicions that he was some kind of animal.

I sat bolt up right when I heard her voice at the door and mentally kicked myself for not keeping an eye on the time and going to get the door myself.

"Oh Mr Cullen, hello, sorry I just came to drop off Sheila for Bella, she said she'd be in. Sorry to disturb you, all her stuff's here, I'll just go now."

Oh shit.

I should have guessed. Angela is always on time.

**I really hoped this lived up to expectations I'm sure all of you have. Let me know what you thought, good or bad, you have no idea how much I take all your thoughts into consideration. **

**Thank you for reading, leave me a line if you want to.**

**Big hugs!**


	17. Charlie

**So this was a little later than I thought it would be but that's because I received some bad news this week and it was a little difficult to find time through all of it to write. I've been running around like a headless chicken and on the phone with people a great deal more than I'd care to be but finally the mayhem came to an end today and I was able to write this.**

**Please forgive errors of any kind; I haven't had time to read over this, I just wanted to get an update to all my FANTASTIC REVIEWERS. I really am sorry that I haven't replied to as many of you as I normally do, but like I said, things have been bat shit crazy this week at my end. I appreciate every single one of your little notes, I read through them and smile and think about what you guys say long after you post it. **

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright August 2010.**_

_Last time…_

"_Oh Mr Cullen, hello, sorry I just came to drop off Sheila for Bella, she said she'd be in. Sorry to disturb you, all her stuff's here, I'll just go now." _

_Oh shit._

_I should have guessed. Angela is always on time. _

**Chapter 17 – Charlie**

My lovely sleep had been interrupted by nervous tapping on my arm as Edward woke me up. I'd been having such _lovely, erotic_ dreams so I was grumpy to be woken up.

As it happens waking up next to Edward Cullen isn't _that bad_ whatever time it is.

"Baby wake up, quickly, please you have to get her off."

"You do it." What I was asking him to do I had no idea but I was _bloody tired._

"No, she'll bite me, please, just tell her to get off of the bed."

"What the hell? Go away, I'm trying to _sleep." _

"I'm serious; you have to get your dog off of my chest."

What on earth was he _talking _about?

And then I heard it, the deep rumbling sound that only emanated from my dog when she was upset.

"Ok Sheila come on girl, off you get. This is _Edward. _He's allowed to stay here, he's ok." I tried to gently move her off of him. I knew she'd get the hint and jump off the bed eventually but she was being stubborn.

"Ok, ok that's it good girl, move back, move away, good girl." He was trying to encourage and coerce my dog like she had a bomb on her back. Silly, melodramatic man of mine.

"Edward she's not a tiger." One final push and she got the hint, leaping off gracefully, although I'm sure she only went to lay down next to the bed, as close as possible to us.

"Baby, believe me, her back feet were dangerously close to my balls. I can't have the goods being squashed, I'm only thinking of you here." His voice was playful and now I really, _really _didn't mind him waking me up. Morning's had a new dimension to them if they involved him.

"You're so cheeky, you know that right." I nestled my way back into his arms, _right where I belong. _I trailed my fingertips up and down the bands of muscle in his arms and sighed in contentment. He rolled to the side, pulling me on top of him, placing small kisses up and down my neck and collarbone.

_This is so nice, and it's mine. All mine._

"You can bet your sweet, perfect ass it is." My hand clapped to my mouth in a familiar action and I tried to hide my face in embarrassment, settling in the space between his shoulder and neck. I groaned in frustration that I couldn't seem to keep my thoughts about any aspect of Edward to myself. It was frightening that he always seemed to be so articulate, and _with it, _when I was just a mess.

"Baby, baby, look at me, hey what's with the blushing?" I smiled at his terms of endearment but then remembered why I was embarrassed in the first place. I gingerly moved my face up towards his and moved my fingers up to the sides of his face, stroking the stubble there, liking the slight roughness of it.

"Yeah, I need to shave."

"No you don't, they're your lion whiskers." I moved my hands to his hair in an effort to distract him from the topic I knew he'd want to talk about. I smiled at the feel of the silky lengths in my hands and gently raked my short fingernails over his head, loving the sounds he made when I did so.

"As good as that feels, I know you're trying to distract me love." He pulled my hands from his head and settled them against his chest, underneath his own. Fun sucker.

"Humph fine."

"What were you embarrassed about?" His nose stroked up and down my jaw line and any hope I had of not telling him vanished.

"It's just that I can't seem to keep what I'm thinking, _inside _my head. All this _stuff _just comes out. I hate it."

"Why?"

"I don't know why Edward, I just can't seem to keep my mouth shut."

"No, I mean why do you hate it? Its incredible hearing you say those kinds of things, because I _do_ belong to you, I _am_ yours. The fact that you understand that, and _want it, _it really makes me happy." Our playful conversation had taken a more serious turn and I wasn't sure how to react. How could he just be this _intense _after taking about the welfare of his testicles?

Not that I didn't _love _hearing those words come from his mouth. It made me feel all mushy and girly. I'd never felt more feminine in my twenty four years than when I was with Edward, more than that, he made me feel alive. There were a thousand sensations and feelings I knew nothing of before he arrived in my life.

"Sometimes I just wonder whether what I say will be too much, and you'll turn around and laugh at me for being ridiculous."

"Love, I want you to be completely honest with me, as I told you I'd be with you. You have to tell me what you're thinking."

"Thank you." My words were sincere, knowing that I could voice all my weird thoughts was refreshing and I felt like a weight had been taken off my shoulders.

"For what?" He sounded surprised and almost…_shy_, it was beyond adorable.

"For being so _good _to me."

I replaced my hands on his cheeks, lowered my face to his and gave him a kiss for the first time this morning. What was meant to be a quick peck however turned into something much more pretty quickly. My memory didn't do his mouth justice, he was so warm and soft and his _mouth _was divine. He pushed his tongue into my mouth while he shifted his hands down to my hips, spreading my legs over his hips allowing me to straddle him. Without breaking contact, he sat us both up, me still straddling him, as he deepened the kiss, moulding his lips to mine as they moved in time together.

I really, really couldn't get enough of him. I just wanted to be closer, all the time. My hands made fists as they moved up to his hair and tugged gently, I smiled when I heard and _felt_ his answering groan.

So he didn't mind the distraction so much now did he?

My knees were still tucked either side of him as I shifted my body upwards to allow our faces to be level.

"Oh God, Bella." His voice was strained and my immediate thought was that I had hurt him in some way. The cause of his reaction however appeared to me soon after he'd spoken. He was hard, like _really throbbing_ hard, even through his flannel pants. My moving my body upwards had shifted our position so that his dick was directly underneath me, like right between my legs. I closed my eyes tightly shut and pulled my bottom lip in between my teeth because it felt _fucking fantastic. _

My breaths were coming out in gasps and I heard his own breath catch in his throat as I experimentally moved up once again, creating the most delicious friction between us both. Our sounds echoed around the room and I returned my mouth to his to keep from moaning like a whore in church. Every part of me felt like it was tingling and _aching, _all I could feel was a ridiculous want and _need _for him that I had no idea how to express.

I pushed him back on the bed, resuming my position on top of him and guided my hands from his hair down his wonderfully smooth and hard chest. I ran my fingers past his nipples and he twitched underneath me, inducing a Cheshire cat grin of my own. The urge to explore was too tempting to resist, I reluctantly moved my lips from his and smiled when he huffed. I trailed open mouthed kisses down his jaw to his neck and then reached up to lick the spot behind his ear.

Mmmmm my Edward tasted good everywhere.

"Baby you have to stop." His breathing was stuttered and I smiled knowing that I had the same effect on him as he did on me; it gave me confidence that I could be good enough for him.

"Why Edward? I thought you said you _liked _Bella kisses." I feigned hurt as I lay on his chest with my ear to his heart. Listening to the steady thump was soothing.

Of course I knew why we should stop, and even though I didn't want to, I knew Edward was the same. At least he was being responsible about us, I knew I wasn't ready to give him everything yet, not that I didn't want to do things with him, I just needed some time to work up to it.

"Silly girl. I know that you know I do. You have to help me out here though, you have _no idea_ how much I wanted to let you continue what you were doing."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I'm not. We just need to set a pace ok, I don't want to rush this. I want to savour _every inch of you." _I gasped as his hands moved from kneading my bottom up my hips, past my waist, and to the sides of my breasts. It was my turn to stutter now as I knew that if his hands either side of me went to join together a little bit, he'd have his hands on me over my pyjama top. He rolled us over so I was underneath him, but without moving his hands any closer over my boobs.

"Edward that's not fair." I was writhing underneath him and I could practically feel him smiling against my neck.

"You have no idea how much I want you, how _desirable _you are. Don't you think it's difficult for me to look at you, watch you and not reach out and touch you? It's strange that I don't have to hold back now, well not so much anyway."

I was on the verge of ripping my top open for him as I moved my hands to the top button of my top.

"Tell me what you want Bella. You have to tell me what you need."

"Touch me Edward, please." Thank God I didn't have to tell him twice, his hands cupped my breasts as soon as I finished speaking. Again my memory didn't serve me well, it felt so much _better_ than it did yesterday, maybe it was because I had more confidence in myself and I knew that he wanted me.

I pushed myself up into his eager hands and couldn't find it in myself to be embarrassed by my own enthusiasm. His thumbs rubbed over my nipples and I felt the muscles in my stomach tighten and my nipples tingle. I had to bite my lip again to keep from moaning but as soon as I did, his own teeth came and removed my lip from my mouths vice grip.

"I want to hear you baby, no hiding remember."

Well if he didn't want me to hold back, then I'll be damned if I was going to disappoint him. Not that I needed to fake anything, as Edward continued his ministrations I found it near _impossible _to stop the panting and moaning. I felt his hands move slowly to my top button and I was getting impatient.

"Can I?" I could hear the smile in his voice. Like he didn't know I was dying for him to tear it off me.

"Yes, just take it off, please Edward." I didn't care that I sounded desperate, I was begging him after all, I needed to feel all this so it was just him, no clothing, no interruptions.

"Uh uh, _savouring_ remember?" He pulled each button apart torturously slow and I wondered how he was able to maintain such control. _But God if it didn't feel amazing_. When he'd finally unbuttoned the whole thing he slid it from my shoulders so I was just in my small sleep shorts and nothing else. I felt so exposed.

"Oh _wow_." I had thought about covering myself with my arms for a moment but it seemed as if Edward was quite _satisfied _with what he saw so I left them by my side.

I was nervous, I couldn't hide that. Obviously Edward knew I'd never been so unclothed in front of a man before but I desperately wanted his approval. So when I felt him grow harder against my thigh and his mouth on my chest I was much reassured. And turned on, more aroused than I'd ever been before.

The characteristic throbbing between my legs that seemed to make itself known whenever Edward was around had intensified. Every touch of his lips to the soft skin of my breast had me gasping and throwing my head back. When he sucked my nipple in between his lips and lightly tugged on it with his teeth I shrieked in surprise. I heard his light chuckle and pushed my hips up off the bed shutting him up effectively. My hands clawed at his back and hair to pull him closer, forcing him to add his other hand to my neglected breast.

He settled into a steady rhythm of rolling one nipple between his fingers, biting the other gently, licking and sucking at both of them and rolling my breast between his hands. It was painfully arousing, the way he was making me feel, but wonderful at the same time. As I couldn't take anymore of not kissing _him_ I pulled his head up to mine, practically forcing my own tongue inside his mouth andloving it when he stroked my own tongue with his.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that."

"I didn't even know people did _anything like that._"

"_That _was just the beginning; I plan on showing you pleasure of every kind, if you'll let me."

Oh my…

If I _let _him.

"Yeah sure, ok." Coherence was not a possibility when Edward was using that voice on me.

"Good, but for now, I should get you something to eat, you must be hungry love. I know I was." He gave me a quick kiss on the lips and jumped out of bed. I pulled the sheet up over me and did a little happy dance in my head.

_He's a smug bastard but his boob kisses set me on fire. He can stay._

"Bella, I swear to God she's still giving me the evil eye." Edward was nervously keeping all his attention focused on my dog while I was trying to catch up on some emails.

"Go and get her some cheese, she'll love you again after that." I was trying so hard not to laugh; this morning had been hilarious when he'd woken up to find her standing on his chest. I'd never forget that. My mind wandered back to _other _aspects of my morning and I'm sure my cheeks flipped to fire engine red.

"What are you thinking about, you've gone all red."

"What do you _think_?" I'll be damned if I was going to tell him just _how good _his mouth felt on me.

"Oh I know. I just can't stop think about how good you taste, your mouth, your skin, and your _breasts. _Delectable." His voice was soft in my and I had a mind to reach around a slap him for distracting me when I was clearly trying to work. Unfortunately the span of my anger where Edward was concerned was ridiculously short.

"Edward please, I'm trying to answer these."

"Bella that's work and it's a bank holiday. You're not going in today."

"I know but I said I'd get some done, they know I won't be in."

"You've been at this for two hours already. Come on, let's go out in the Porsche, it's a nice day."

"I know look, ok, I'm done." I closed the couple of applications that I was using and snapped my laptop shut with a satisfying pop. "I don't want to leave Sheila here today, have you got another car we can take?"

"Sure, I haven't taken the Mercedes out in a while. Do you want to visit your Dad?"

Guilt washed over me for not visiting him this weekend and because Edward was so eager to centre his day off around me. Now because he mentioned it, visiting Charlie was exactly what I wanted to do. I just hoped he'd be ok with it.

"You'd do that? You don't have to, it's quite a drive." I was kind of excited to hear what he'd say, he was being so selfless, and it was almost too good to be true.

"Of course I would. And it's not much further than my parents, so it's not too bad. Sheila can go in the back and when we get there I'll take her for a run in the garden."

"Are you sure you want to? I don't know how my Dad will be…" He cut me off by pulling me up into a hug and a quick kiss.

"If it involves you, if I get to spend time with _my girl, _then why wouldn't I want to? Plus, I think I should meet your Dad, it seems right, you know." I did know what he was talking about but it was different for me, my Dad didn't remember his daughter as being alive, he only thought I was someone who came to see him every now and then, and sometimes he had trouble remembering any of that.

"I can't promise I won't get upset. Be prepared for tears."

"Ok, then be prepared for me to hold you and wipe away any and all of your tears. I'm not going anywhere Bella, even though I hate seeing you upset, I'm not running."

"God you're so -" The sincerity of his words was quite honestly shocking, I knew he meant every bit of what he'd said; there was no room for lies there. It was just astounding nonetheless.

"Too much?"

"No, you're _just right_ for me."

_You're perfect for me._

The only real preparation I'd given Edward for meeting Charlie was to not make any references to the fact that I was his daughter and he was my Dad, I'd slipped once before and he'd become very confused and upset. He firmly believed that his entire family had died in that car crash with Phil and changing his beliefs, I thought, would do more harm than good. As long as he knew I was there for him as a friend, to visit him and to talk to him, that was enough.

"Hello sir my name's Edward Cullen, I'm a friend of Bella's."

It turned out that Edward was really quite nervous about meeting my Dad, for what reason I really didn't know. I assured him that once he got past all the confusion and anxieties Charlie had always had about meeting new people, it wasn't daunting having a conversation with him. We stayed together for a couple of hours, telling him all sorts of things about our work. Edward told him that Carlisle liked playing golf and described the places they'd been when he was younger. I didn't have to see to know that the two most important men in my life were happy talking together.

Charlie was quiet but still engaged as he prompted Edward to tell him more about one thing or another but Edward was patient. Especially seeing as Charlie revisited their conversation on fishing a grand total of four times, acting as though it were the first. Edward though, carried on as if it were the first time he'd heard the stories and laughed naturally at the repeated punch line. When he tried for a fifth, excited to tell Edward _again _about the rainbow trout he'd caught in '93 I steered the conversation to Charlie's second favourite subject, his old job.

Edward left just after lunchtime as I'd persuaded him to call into his parent's house, assuming they were in. I supposed that Carlisle and Esme would be spending the day together as it was a Monday and Carlisle never went out to golf until Tuesday. He needed to apologise for his behaviour on Friday night, even if he couldn't tell them exactly why he behaved so, I still thought it was necessary. Esme would be at least pleased to see him.

He reluctantly agreed and insisted on taking Sheila with him so she could run around their garden, and also so that they could 'bond'. His argument was that because he was going to be around a lot more, she should get used to him. I couldn't argue with that.

I moved to the side of Charlie's bed and held his hand between the two of mine, Edward had known exactly when I wanted to spend some time with my Dad and I was incredibly grateful.

"I'd say you got yourself a keeper there Miss Bella." The conversation had lulled for a few moments so his words came as a bit of a surprise.

"What do you mean Charlie?" I was thoroughly confused and hoped that he hadn't presumed something.

"That boy Edwin that was here. He's a nice guy, pretty sweet on you as well." His voice was gruff but when Charlie said he liked somebody, they'd obviously made a damn good impression.

"You mean Edward?"

"That's what I said."

"Well I like him too, we've not been together long though, but it's nice, really nice having him around." I didn't want to go into too much detail, talking about Edward to Charlie was bound to get my emotions all stirred up and there'd be tears for sure.

"Huh, the way that boy looks at you, I'd say he's going to want to be around for a very long time."

"And how do you know that?"

"I _know _because that's precisely how I looked at my woman when she was with me, her and my little girl, most important things in the world to me." I had to take a few minutes to clear my head after hearing that, if I let myself go I'd sit there and blubber all day long.

Don't cry, don't cry.

I dry washed my face with my hands and smiled to myself that even though Charlie and Renee weren't together when she died, he would _always _love her, _no matter what. _That kind of love and devotion was truly moving, and I almost shed a tear for my own father's loneliness.

"That's beautiful Charlie, it really is."

"Sometimes the truth is. That's just how things are."

Thankfully for me and my tear ducts the rest of the afternoon wasn't so sombre, I even laughed a couple of times when he was talking about Mrs Butler down the hall who 'clearly had designs on him'. I told him to be nice to his admirers which he took as an opportunity to talk to me about Edward, or _Edwin _some more.

"He was a nice boy that Edwin. A real keeper."

"He certainly is." I stifled a chuckle, I'd have to tell him about his new name and see how he warmed to it. I couldn't imagine that it would go down well.

I was mentally exhausted when Edward picked me up at five o'clock sharp so we could go home. I kissed Charlie on the head goodbye as usual and promised to come and see him more often, bringing Edwin with me of course, to which he seemed happy.

"Well done today baby that must have been hard. I'm really proud of you, you know." We were driving along the motorway, roof partly open, the wing blowing through my hair, Sheila in the back and I was feeling incredibly comfortable. His hand was holding mine between our seats and his thumb rubbed something circles over my hand while I thought about what had happened today.

"You made it easier, you being there, it really helped me, thank you Edward." I was truly grateful to him, he'd given up almost his entire day to spend with me and my father, having regurgitated conversations and probably being bored out of his mind, but still, he was there.

"Anytime sweetheart, you know that. Plus I really liked your Dad, he's nice, and he cares about you a lot."

"I know, the way he talks about his daughter reminds me that even though he doesn't know it's me, he still loves me. I'm ok with that." There was a pregnant pause and I realised that I didn't just say the words for the sake of it, I really meant it. I was ok with the way things were, it wasn't ideal, but at least I still had a Dad, someone to hold my hand and talk to me, which was exactly what I did today.

"Charlie really likes you, he's determined to call you Edwin but he said you're a good guy. He told me numerous times that you were a keeper." Honestly the man was about as subtle as Esme.

"Good, at least the guy knows what he's talking about. You _do _realise that I'm not letting you get away don't you, just to clarify things." He brought my hand to his face and placed light kisses all over my knuckles before turning my hand over and pressing a kiss in the centre of my palm. Edward always made me feel so special, no scratch that, adored. He _adored_ me.

"I think I can handle that."

A comfortable silence engulfed the car for the remainder of the journey and I was content to hold his hand over the centre console and think about how my life had changed so dramatically in the last couple of days. For two consecutive nights I'd had a man in my bed, and said man had been the only person I'd ever entertained romantic feelings for. Edward had been the first person to make me feel truly alive, I could please him with the things I did and he sure as hell pleased me with pretty much _anything _he did. Apart from the moody fucktard sulking, that was not acceptable, but it was also in the past, _our past._

I wanted to share my life with Edward, I wanted to wake up next to him in the morning and know they he would always be there to hold me when I needed it and likewise I would comfort him. Admittedly I didn't know how things would be when we returned to work, but I had no doubts that we'd be able to sort something out. We couldn't be affectionate at work, something I thought to be unprofessional anyway, but because of our respective positions in the company. If the board of directors found out that Edward and I shared a 'more than professional' relationship then it would be concluded that my project would be given unfair status and attention and we could both be put under fire. I simply couldn't let that happen, I wanted to be where he was and we'd both worked too hard to slip up on this.

My head was aching with all the worrying I'd allowed myself to do and I realised I'd probably been silent for almost an hour.

"Sheila likes me now. We bonded."

"Really? How so?"

"I played fetch with her for over an hour, took her to the fields at the back of the house and she ran about like a loon. Also I gave her cheese, keeps her happy, bit like you really." It was a shame we were in the tight confines of a car, otherwise I'd have kicked him.

"Don't do the angry eyebrow thing. I didn't mean it." His voice was pleading and only succeeded in making me laugh.

"What eyebrow thing?"

"When you're mad at someone, your right eyebrow goes up, I generally try to back down at some point. I mean it's sexy as hell when you're having a go at someone else but not me, angry Bella is dangerous, she throws underwear at me, which I am totally fine with by the way."

"Do you _have_ to bring that up?" I hung my head in shame, real honest to God, 'I threw lacy boy shorts at my boss' shame.

"Have to, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It's a major high point in my career."

"Idiot."

"You love it."

"That's debatable." Instead of bantering he brought my fingers to his mouth and started to nibble them, causing peals of laughter to erupt from my mouth. Once composure was in reach I settled myself in my seat again and smiled over at him.

"So how was Esme? Was your Dad home?"

"Dad was out, so it was just Mom, you were right, she was glad to see me."

"Did you manage to explain…?" It was incredibly important to me that despite the past few weeks, Edward should maintain a good healthy relationship with his parents. I emphasised this to him this morning and thankfully he agreed.

"Yeah, she was fine I guess. She tried to cover it up but I think she was a bit upset at the time. Not that she doesn't have a right to be, I was an idiot."

"Yeah, you really were."

"Steady Miss Cryptic. So anyway, I talked to her and she was ok, put a lot of it down to stress. She also drilled into me that I should apologise profusely to you and that I should be happy that you're happy."

"As it is Mr Cullen I am extremely happy, verging on joyful." We pulled to a stop in our apartment building car park and I felt him lean over my seat and unlock my seat belt, placing small kisses on my jaw on a path to my lips.

"Is that so Miss Swan? And who would be the cause of this unprecedented happiness?"

"Oh just some guy I met at work, he's part sex demon part Greek God but I kind of like him, like a lot. He's a keeper."

"Right answer baby."

**Did you like it? I really hope so****.**

**As you all know any comments / questions / suggestions are always welcome and I will honestly do my best to get back to you on anything. Your opinions mean the world to me, thank you for reading. **

**Bad news – I will not be able to update quickly as I'm away early next week and don't return until around the **_**9**__**th**__** September **_**(Airline efficiency depending). I'll miss you, I'd much rather be here talking to you wonderful people.**

**Big hugs!**


	18. Everything

**Hello everyone! I'm back (evidently). I hope you all had a great time off on your holidays / enjoying the sun / relaxing / generally having a good time. I'm so glad to be back after travelling so much, there's nothing quite like being in my own bed again, and of course, getting to update and talk to you lovely people!**

**There's not a lot of drama here, just some fluff, because I know that's gone down well in the past. Regarding reviews, I'll reply to last chapter's ones tonight and try to stay on top of any others. Thank you for your kind words, they really do move me. **

**Just to let you know some stuff in advance, I'm aiming for 400 reviews at the end of CHAPTER 20, and also, I said to some of you a while ago that I would consider writing an EPOV of a chosen scene/chapter after Chapter 20. I do plan on doing this but I'm doing it purely for you guys and not really to add to the story (I'm not going to write Sight in EPOV).**

**If you have particular chapter/scene that you would want to read in EPOV then send me a pm or leave it in a review. If I get a lot of different ideas then I'll put it in a poll to see which is most popular, until then, send me your thoughts, you know I love to hear them.**

**Thank you to and Mr Bublé, what a man. **

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright September 2010.**_

_Last time…_

"_As it is Mr Cullen I am extremely happy, verging on joyful." We pulled to a stop in our apartment building car park and I felt him lean over my seat and unlock my seat belt, placing small kisses on my jaw on a path to my lips. _

"_Is that so Miss Swan? And who would be the cause of this unprecedented happiness?"_

"_Oh just some guy I met at work, he's part sex demon part Greek God but I kind of like him, like a lot. He's a keeper."_

"_Right answer baby." _

**Chapter 18**** - Everything**

The last week had been _difficult _at best. I knew things would get slightly more hectic as December approached and the deadline for the completion of Phase 1 of the project loomed ahead of us, but the past ten days had been nothing short of crazy. Last weekend I had wanted nothing more than to spend some quality time with Edward. After meeting my Dad for the first time on the bank holiday at the start of the week and work, I knew we both needed a time out. So when I got an email last thing on Friday telling me that my team and I had to be in for a test weekend I was most _displeased. _

This last week had been equally crazy, each night I was beyond tired when I came in and Edward was the same, even though we'd slept in the same bed every night I felt so far away from him, the separation I felt was making me miserable.

But I swear someone was out to get me today. It was as if everyone on my floor who could _possibly _want to talk to me _had _to do so _today._ Despite all this, I stayed strong. I didn't scream at anyone or cause them bodily harm, although I couldn't help raising my voice at a few select individuals using some of my more 'colourful vocabulary'. I'm pretty sure I did the 'eyebrow thing' I do when I'm mad to everyone on my team but that was justified.

In all honesty I think Edward made that up so now I feel self conscious every time I start having a go at someone, wondering if my eyebrows are doing something odd. But really, who am I to argue? If I have a subconscious scary eyebrow thing then that can only be good. Intimidation is a key part of my job, well; I like to think it is.

It was five o'clock and I was just about ready to jump ship and _run home _when someone knocked on my door, _again._

"If you're here to tell you have a problem or want me to attend a meeting, go away." I threw my head down on my desk with my arms folded under me, hoping, no _praying, _the intruder wouldn't come in.

"Miss Swan, I just need a moment of your time if you're free, it's important." I recognised the only voice I'd wanted to hear all day in an instant.

_Edward. _

It was a good thing that he already had a key because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to reach him quick enough. As soon as I heard his footsteps come into the room and the door click shut I jumped up from my seat and smiled when he wrapped his arms around me. His head nestled into the crook of my neck and his hands rubbed over my back, shoulders, hips and of course, my behind. Me, I was just content to wrap my arms around him and hold him to me as close as possible and rest my head against his shoulder.

"I missed you today; I've missed you so fucking much. I wanted to run into your office and beg you to hold me prisoner but people wanted to talk to me, it hasn't stopped all day."

"You know you'd never have to beg, just say the word and I'll keep you tied next to me from now on. You won't leave my side." His hands roamed slowly now through my hair as he rained kisses down over my face in between his words.

"I'd love that, I mean I _really _would, but I can't avoid them. Painful as it is. Are you going to kiss me now? I've had a really rough -" Speech was cut off as his mouth covered mine and it made me forget why I'd been complaining before.

I don't think I'd ever get used to kissing Edward. Every time it was just as good as the first, most of the time better, and for the past week I'd missed just how _good _I knew he could make me feel.

I tugged gently on his full bottom lip with my teeth as his hands moved slowly but purposefully up my thighs towards my bottom, gathering up the material of my skirt as he went. We both let out a groan as his rough hands came into contact with my bum. I felt him smile against my mouth as he realised I was wearing a thong _again. _All in all Rosalie had been right about at least two things, first Edward loved them, I mean really, _really _loved them, and second that they actually weren't uncomfortable. Sure the first couple of days it felt a little _odd _but after that I didn't even think about it, in fact, it hardly felt like I was wearing anything to cover…down there.

He shocked my by lifting me up, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist as he walked slowly backwards, presumably to the leather sofa to the side of my desk. As he sat down, I pushed myself further onto him, straddling the tops of his thighs and running both my hands from the nape of his neck into his hair. It felt wonderful, and I could tell he appreciated my ministrations; I bent my head down low to his neck and alternated between placing small licks and kisses over his stubble free skin.

His breathing was getting heavier and I ran my nose along his jaw line to his ear and sucked the lobe into my mouth, remembering just how much I liked it when he did that to me, I decided to return the favour. Sure enough I could feel his pants growing tighter between my legs and I marvelled at just how much I affected this wonderful, sexy man. It was good to know I could have a similar effect on him as he had on me.

I blushed as I realised how forceful I'd probably been with him and he hadn't said a word since we'd sat down.

"Sorry. I meant it when I said I missed you." I ducked my head but I wasn't really all that embarrassed. Edward had made it very clear that he was more than happy with whatever I wanted to do to him but I felt like today was the first time I'd actually taken the lead. It would have seemed insignificant to anyone else but it was kind of a big thing to me.

"I miss you all the time, if you're across town, or across the room in a meeting. I feel like I need to be close to you, always." I rested my head in his neck and nodded in agreement, I didn't need to say anymore, it was true for me as well. I was truly touched by how tender his voice sounded, especially after our passionate kissing.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Mom rang today and asked if we wanted to have dinner with her and Dad. I said we both had plans. Is that ok?"

"Of course it is, besides we've both had a long week, rescheduling isn't a problem. Plus you saw Esme when I went to see Charlie so it's not like you're neglecting them. Why do you sound nervous? You're never nervous." I was starting to get suspicious, no, not suspicious, more like _curious. _I sat up and placed my hands on either side of his face.

"So seeing as we're both free tomorrow night I was wondering, well I thought it might be a good idea, and you know, fun, if we went out. Like a date, a first date, to dinner, at a restaurant, if you want." He seemed to let out a sigh of relief after talking and I stared at him open mouthed in shock.

Not a good look.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't in shock because he was taking me out on a date, I was overjoyed about that, no, I was flabbergasted to hear how unsure of himself he sounded. I almost laughed but stopped myself as I realised how awkward it would be if I did.

"Edward I would _love _to go on a date with you. Dinner sounds wonderful. Now why on earth did you sound so _nervous? _I'm usually the incoherent one, what's the matter?" He breathed what must have been a sigh of relief against my cheek and kissed me sweetly, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close to him.

"I don't know. It's just that this is your first _first _date and I wanted to do things right. I should have asked you last week but we were both so tired and I guess I felt guilty for not taking you out earlier. Plus you could have said no, which was a worry of mine."

"You really think I could ever say no to you? You don't give yourself enough credit Mr Cullen, you've been so good to me, I can't even tell you how much I appreciate everything you do for me." My lips found his and this kiss was slow, but full of feeling. His arms lifted me up so we were both standing in the middle of the space that was my office.

"Just stay with me, ok." His forehead leaned into mine and as he spoke his words struck a chord in me. I needed to reassure him that his worries had no ground to them.

"Always." I smiled up at him and he proceeded to once again make me weak at the knees and giddy.

It was almost seven thirty and Edward was due to come and 'pick me up' any minute now. He had insisted that he couldn't come home with me today after work as usual but would pick me up at my door to take me to dinner instead. He was so determined to make our first date as authentic as possible, even calling me at lunchtime to check that I was still ok for it, not that he could have walked a dozen paces from his office to ask me or anything.

There was a knock at the door and I ran my hands down the sides of my dress to smooth out the non existent creases. I'd called Rosalie the night before to ask for her advice on what I should wear tonight. She told me to wear the 'Vita Dress' she'd bought me from Hobbs because it would make my legs and bum look good. As soon as I'd put the command into the Kaleidoscope I found a dress that came just above the knee to put on. It really was a lovely material; the wool silk was light and apparently made the scarlet red dress 'shine', whatever that meant.

The shoes were a slightly different matter. The heels were much higher than I was really comfortable with but Rosalie insisted that they went with the dress so I could only trust her. I'd got in at four today to practise walking around in them, not that I'd have to do a lot of walking tonight, we were going to Mayfair so we'd have to take a taxi anyway but the last thing I wanted to do was fall over.

I steadied myself and walked calmly to the door, not even trembling as I opened it up to greet Edward.

"You look amazing. Here these are for you." I heard the crackling of cellophane and gasped when I was confronted with the intense aroma of roses, and lots of them. I'd been around Esme long enough to immediately know the scents of quite a number of different flowers so I knew I hadn't mistaken his gift.

"These are beautiful. Thank you so much." I pulled the large bouquet to my face and inhaled deeply, revelling in the sweet smell.

"They don't do you justice at all but I thought you might appreciate the cliché. It's cheesy I know, I probably should have -" I could tell he was starting to ramble to I shut him off by placing my hand delicately over his mouth, hoping I didn't squash his nose by accident.

"It might be cliché and cheesy for other people, but it's perfect for me." I smiled at him and pulled him to me to place a kiss on his cheek. In true first date style I didn't want to _really_ kiss him until after dinner, or at least until we got our starters.

"That's all that matters."

Seth drove us to Le Gavroche for our eight o'clock dinner reservation in record time. I know people say that men can't multi-task as well as women but I think Seth could remain talking at breakneck speed in the middle of anything. I think he was even more excited than we were. I asked Edward when we got out the car if Seth had any _habits _he knew of.

Blessedly I was assured that his motor mouth wasn't the result of illegal substances but rather that he was seeing his girlfriend tomorrow for the first time in six months who'd been away on an engineering scholarship programme. I smiled at the sentiment and thought about how excited I'd be if I'd had to stay away from Edward for the length of time and got to see him again, the thought made me sad so I decided not to think about it.

"What's got you smiling?"

"Just the way Seth was talking about his girlfriend, it was sweet."

"I guess I owe him really, the amount I talk about you he's able to get his own back now."

"Is that really a good idea? I mean, he's employed by CGB technically, we've got to be careful Edward."

"I know, I know. Trust me; I wouldn't be talking to him if I didn't think I could trust him. It's in his best interests not to peep a word."

"Ok, that's good." I felt relieved; I had enough complications to deal with at work as it was.

"You worry too much love, come on, they can seat us now." He pressed a kiss to the side of my head and I smiled at how laid back he was, he kept me grounded and I was grateful.

I'd brought my stick with me because I just didn't want to take the risk of tripping over something tonight. Also I didn't want Edward to have to constantly worry about looking at the ground and guiding me so I wouldn't fall, I loved that he looked after me but I'd been able to cope by myself for eight years now and that wasn't going to change.

A couple of minutes of navigating through doors and hallways and we were seated in a room that was, apart from our shuffling footsteps, completely quiet. Edward had told me that the restaurant was extremely successful and tables were often hard to come by, I expected a restaurant with three Michelin stars to be well, a lot busier than this on a Friday evening.

"Um, Edward, where are the other people? It's kind of, empty."

"Good thing too, I booked us a private dining room. You don't mind do you? I kind of wanted it to be just…us."

"Do I _mind?_ I get you all to myself, just us is perfect."

"Good, do you want me to get us some champagne?"

"Sure that sounds great. What are we celebrating?"

"Oh I don't know, our first date and it is eleven days since you agreed to be my girlfriend."

"Sounds like someone's been counting." He was beyond adorable; I didn't know it could be like this.

"Haven't you?" He sounded surprised and feigned hurt. I laughed as I replied.

"Of course." I was glad to hear we were on the same page, once again.

Two glasses of champagne and half an hour later Edward was reading me the list of starters and I was torn between what to choose.

"Edward I don't know, it all sounds so good. You pick for me, please."

"Alright well I'm going to have the Soufflé Suissesse, are you ok with the lobster mousse?"

"Yes. Oooh are you having the cheese one? Can I try some?" I think the champagne had made me a little giddy but I couldn't care less, I was always giddy around Edward anyway.

His voice took on a mock serious tone and he leaned in my direction, grasping my hand in his. "Bella, I don't know if we're at that stage in the relationship yet, sharing food, that's pretty big." I could hear the smile on his face, he hadn't fooled me one bit.

I leaned in a little further so my mouth was at his ear and whispered slowly to him. "I don't know Mr Cullen, you've shared my bed for almost two weeks now, and I'd say you owe me a little cheese soufflé for that, _at the very least._" As I finished I reached under the table to give his knee a light squeeze, making him gasp and me chuckle.

"You know you're really making this hard for me."

"Good, I like making you hard." The next thing I heard was Edward spitting out his champagne which, thankfully, didn't land on me or my dress. I reached over to rub his back gently as I heard the waiter walk in to take our orders. I really, really tried not to gloat at my small victory but it was very hard, no pun intended. I rattled off our orders as Edward was quiet next to me, as soon as I heard the door close I couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a peal of laughter.

"Sorry Edward." It was probably about the most insincere apology seeing as I was still giggling.

"You don't sound sorry. Here I am trying to behave myself and then you go and say something like that."

"I never said you had to behave yourself."

"Oh really? So you wouldn't mind if I swept the cutlery and glasses off the table, laid you down, bent over you and kiss the skin that has been calling out to me all evening."

All I could do was gulp, speech wasn't an option.

He had moved closer to me while he was talking and his left hand was resting on the middle of my right thigh, making small patterns with his fingers across the silk.

"And I guess, seeing as I'm not behaving myself, that I could slowly peel this delicious dress off of you, all the while covering you with slow kisses, showing you just how much I _adore_ you."

His lips were at my ear and his warm breath and words were making me shiver.

_For the love of God Bella don't hyperventilate._

"Of course, my _bad behaviour_ would also have to include bringing you to new heights of pleasure, again, again and _again_." Now I was sure my face was as red as my dress as I was panting like I'd been for a good run.

_Oh who really needs to eat anyway? Food is overrated. What he wants to do to you sounds much more…delicious._

I really had to clench my fist and grit my teeth to stop myself from moaning. That _voice. _Edward could make a million in spoken audio if he wanted, or phone porn.

I finally managed to find my voice and tried to make it sound as level as I could. He'd barely touched me.

"They, uh, they probably wouldn't let us come again if we uh, if you did, you know, _that." _

"There are plenty of good restaurants in London Bella, I'm sure we could find somewhere." He was nibbling my ear with his lips and as strange as it sounded, it felt _amazing. _

"_Edward."_

"_Yes _love?"

"You're not fair."

"Never said I was; payback's bitch isn't it sweetheart. Are you hungry? Our starter's here."

Am I hungry? He's asking me that _now? _

The lobster mousse was fantastic; it came with a caviar and champagne butter sauce which was equally good. I'd never really liked the idea of caviar before but this tasted really good so I guess I was converted. Edward did offer me some of his soufflé, which was creamy and rich and apparently their signature dish, I could see why.

Again I asked Edward to order for me for our ain course, there were far too many dishes for me to remember each one of them to decide. We joked that we'd have to print off the menu before we came somewhere so I could have time to decide for myself. I didn't think it was such a bad idea.

He ordered the roast veal sweetbread for me and the scotch fillet of beef for himself. Again we swapped dishes for a couple of mouthfuls and I'd never tasted such tender meat, although Edward's beef was a little too rich for me.

I sat back in my chair and hoped I didn't look too un-lady like, my stomach was full and I didn't think I could handle dessert. We hadn't eaten quickly but I didn't usually eat this much for dinner.

"I'm going to be so bloated tomorrow, be prepared."

"I don't care love, as long as you enjoyed the food."

"That I definitely did. Can't you tell from the clean plate?"

"Do you want dessert?"

"Maybe in a while, I'm really full right now, why, are you hungry?"

"No, later is fine. I was thinking maybe you could dance with me first." He made it sound like a question and I almost began to put up a fight but decided against it when I realised how hopeful he sounded.

"Ok, but I'm going to take my shoes off."

"Is that all? That's a shame."

I smiled at his lack of subtlety.

"Yes, now come on, you said you wanted to dance."

"Wait, I want to give you something first."

"What is it?"

"Open up, I can't tell you _before _you open it." He handed me a small box with a ribbon wrapped around the outside. I slowly unwrapped it and found a small soft pouch inside the box, intrigued and slightly confused I felt inside and felt a ring attached to some silk cord. I pulled it out and felt the weight in the palm of my hand. It was fairly heavy but not overly so. He took it out of my hands and moved behind me to fasten it gently at my neck, as he finished I moved my hand to my chest feeling that it hung just above my heart against my breastbone.

"Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful Edward, thank you. This is going to sound stupid but, what is it exactly?"

"It's a simple platinum band. I know you don't like elaborate things and it's not ostentatious. I thought it could be like a promise ring, it's just something people used to do back home, and I thought, I don't know."

A _promise _ring?

I stood back for a second. This wasn't just a piece of jewellery; this was significant in a big way. I didn't really know an awful lot about promise rings but the gesture on its own was incredibly moving. A traitorous tear escaped my eye and I hastily rubbed it away hoping he hadn't noticed.

"Oh Baby, don't be upset, you're not meant to cry." He pulled me to him and stroked my hair lovingly; at least that's what it felt like.

"Happy tears. I know it's really stupid to cry right now, but I was just really surprised, I just, I didn't expect that, at all."

"Is it ok? I mean, it's probably a little old fashioned but -"

"But nothing Edward, it's perfect, I love it, and I'm going to wear it everyday."

"Good, that's a relief. I wanted to give you something to know that I'm always there; I'm always here for you. Even if I can't show it at work, you're everything to me."

"It's mutual Edward, you're so special to me, and I can't even tell you how much, I don't have the words." At this point, after what he'd given me it was impossible to hold myself back from kissing him, first date rules be damned. I held his face gently in my hands and reached up on my toes to kiss his lips softly, even after our heated teasing tonight, it was still perfect.

He was the first one to pull away causing me to pout; he held my hand and leaned down to pick something up from the table and a few seconds later the voice of Michael Bublé filled the room.

Edward led me into the middle of the room and spun me in a small circle before pulling me in close to his body, one hand holding mine and the other on my hip. When he began singing the words in my ear I knew then that when it came to Edward Cullen, there'd be no hope for me.

_You're a falling star, you're the get away car.  
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.  
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.  
And you're the perfect thing to say._

And you play it coy but it's kinda cute.  
Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do.  
Baby don't pretend that you don't know it's true.  
'cause you can see it when I look at you.

_And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times  
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.  
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything._

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,  
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.  
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,  
You're every minute of my everyday.

_And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,  
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.  
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,  
And you know that's what our love can do._

He twirled me again so I had my back to him and his arms wrapped around me, holding my waist and my own hands. I laid my head back against his chest and enjoyed every minute of what we were doing and savoured every word he sang in my ear.

_And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times  
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.  
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.  
You're every song, and I sing along.  
__'Cause you're my everything.  
Yeah, yeah_

So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la  
So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

This thing I had with Edward was special, beyond that; it wasn't like anything I could have ever dreamed of. I didn't know that one person could make me as happy as Edward did. We just fit. Sure, at times we disagreed on things but it was mainly work related, there wasn't one thing about him that I would change. Sometimes I felt like I was only giving him half the package, he deserved _so much more _than what I could give him at the moment, I felt like I was getting the better half of the deal, so to speak.

I reached for one of his hands, clasped it in my own and held it to my chest tightly against my ring. My _promise _ring. I hoped my actions could signify my feelings that I couldn't yet express with words.

We took home an assortment of the Chef's favourite desserts as a takeaway and I basked in a feeling of bliss as we were driven home. I was almost glad Seth had gone home and we had someone else, I didn't think I had the energy to keep up with his energetic conversation now.

I walked with my shoes in one hand and Edward's hand in the other as I padded across the plush carpet in the building's hallway. We arrived at my door and I turned to face Edward while reaching around to unlock my front door.

"I had the best time tonight, it was, I swear I've said the word 'perfect' way too many times tonight but that's exactly what it was. Thank you so much."

"It was entirely my pleasure. So I guess, if we're sticking with first date traditions, I should give you a kiss and promise to call you in the next couple of days." I could tell he was joking by his voice but it still took a moment for his words to register. I burst out laughing, as if he'd just spat out champagne again.

Once I'd composed myself I grabbed his hand and pulled him along beside me. "Oh Junior, if you think you're going anywhere other than my bed tonight you are _sadly _mistaken." I squealed as he slapped my bum walking through the door.

"Yes ma'am."

**Mmmmm…you like? I hope so.**

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**I will try my very best to update within a week, reviews do help though **


	19. The Best Is Yet To Come

**Thank you (as always) to all my reviewers. You make my day and I re-read a lot of them when I need inspiration or a little lift, so thank you, each and every one of you.**

**A slice of lemon with today's chapter? Oh yes.**

**Please overlook small errors, this week has been really tough and it was touch and go to get this chapter out today.**

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright September 2010.**_

Last time…

"_Oh Junior, if you think you're going anywhere other than my bed tonight you are sadly mistaken." I squealed as he slapped my bum walking through the door._

"_Yes ma'am." _

**Chapter 19 - **

When I woke up I was surprised at how refreshed I felt, surely my alarm clock must be displaying double digits. I couldn't care less; I hadn't had a sleep this good in a while. I rubbed my eyes, thankful that I'd remembered to remove the small amount of mascara I'd put on last night, I doubt Edward wanted to wake up next to a panda.

Speaking of my perfect boyfriend who treats me like some kind of goddess, where was he? His head wasn't lying next to mine and because I wasn't _quite _awake yet I was a little confused as to where he was. I stifled a giggle as I realised the slight tickling sensation I was feeling on my chest was Edward, or more specifically, his _hair. _His head was resting in the valley of skin between my breasts, the right side of his face resting against my right breast with his arms wrapped around my waist.

I couldn't think of a better way to wake up. I decided not to wake him, he'd had just as hard a time as me, although his past two weeks had involved a lot more travelling around the city than mine. I shifted my position ever so slightly so I could rest my hand against his head and stroke his hair softly, loving the silky feel of it in my hands.

It didn't even occur to me at the time to question where my top had gone that I'd put on for bed. I mean really, I couldn't care less. I was exactly where I wanted to be, in bed with the man who was fast becoming the most important thing in my life. I smiled as I realized that I had truly never been this happy before, no-one could make me happy like Edward. In fact, I was a completely different person; of course I still wanted the same things as I did before, just in a slightly different way. My career aspirations hadn't changed. I loved my job and I wanted to continue working, but the thing that kept me going was the knowledge that everyday I'd still get to be with Edward in some small way.

My _personal _hopes and dreams, now what of them. Truthfully, I don't know if I even had _any _before I became involved with Edward. One thing that was always on the horizon was marriage, I just assumed that _one day _I'd get married to _someone_, but that was before. Now, not only was there a 'someone', but I was thinking…

_Swan, stop it right there. How in the hell do you know if he's even thinking about _that_? The thought probably hasn't even crossed his mind. Don't get your hopes up for nothing. You're being ridiculous._

I sighed as I realised I was grateful for my 'down to earth' subconscious. It was obviously way, _way _too soon to be talking about anything like that. I fingered the promise ring that was resting in the hollow of my throat, having made a lucky escape from being trapped under Edward's mane.

Maybe some day, it might be nice. I smiled to myself and shook my head in disbelief. The first boyfriend I have and I'm already thinking about marrying him. And after twelve days no less!

Subconsciously I had allowed my fingers to roam from his hair down his face along his cheekbone and jaw line. I mentally cursed myself for not paying attention to my own hands but suddenly couldn't stop myself from rubbing my thumb and fingers lightly along his nose, ever so gently over his eyes and finally his oh so soft lips. I pressed gently over the top and bottom one in turn and was shocked when his mouth opened up to lightly suck on my index finger.

Morning finger sucking may not sound like the most erotic venture but it certainly made me feel as if it were. My thighs clenched and the feeling of his tongue on the pad of my finger sent an electric shock straight to the apex of my legs and I _swear _it tightened down there.

"Edward, are you awake?" I whispered softly to him. There was a small chance that he could still be asleep, he could have a subconscious finger sucking fetish that I had yet to discover until this morning. It was entirely possible. Apparently there was a chance that I unknowingly took my clothes off while sleeping, so I wasn't going to rule anything out.

As soon as I felt muffled laughter against my chest accompanied by stubble tickling I knew that he was in fact awake. Oh well, so much for the finger sucking fetish.

He released my finger and held my hand in the two of his, placing small kisses on each of my fingers before turning my hand over to kiss my palm.

"Yes love. How did you sleep?" As he spoke to me he moved up the bed so our heads were next to one another. He rolled me on my side so we were facing one another with his arm around my waist and our legs tangled together. It seemed incredible _intimate_ even though I still had my pyjama bottoms on and he his boxer shorts, I wasn't complaining.

"Good, well _really _good. I could have done with that every night this week. You sleep ok?"

"The _best_, and when I woke up it was even better. I mean who needs pillows when I could have _these._" As if I hadn't woken up to find his head on my breasts he slipped a hand in between our bodies and slowly traced the outside of each of my boobs. He sounded so happy that I didn't have the heart to really scold him, not that I ever could now; I was putty in his hands.

"Oh God you really are such a _guy_ aren't you?" I tried to make light of the fact that _Edward's _hands had just been on my boobs and it was already making me _want _him, throw in the finger sucking and it was no surprise I was getting worked up.

"Yes sweetheart, a fact that you will thank me for again and again, I'll make sure of it." I had no coherent response to his half hearted teasing so I slipped my hand around the back of his head and pulled it to me to kiss him, _hard_. I clearly didn't give a fuck about morning breath today.

As soon as his tongue pushed into my mouth to massage my own I knew I was lost. My mind had missed the companionship that Edward could provide but my body was another matter. He was all over me all at once and suddenly I couldn't get enough of him. My hands went to his hair to secure my mouth to his and I groaned in satisfaction. His only response was to prove his own arousal by rubbing his crotch against mine, causing a wanton moan to slip out of me.

I didn't know what the case was with other men, but really, Edward got 'excited' rather quickly. I had no intention of finding out whether this was a general condition but every time I felt _that _against me, my heart swelled with joy. How is it that I, Isabella Swan who had, prior to a couple of weeks ago, never kissed a man, been on a date, or really ever had a male friend, can even have an effect on someone like Edward. Unless that's how he reacts to all women, no, I dismissed that thought immediately. He'd been very open about the effect I had on him, which I was continuously grateful for.

If he had _that _kind of reaction to women he saw all day he'd need a special dispensation at work. I wondered how they'd word something like that.

_Edward Cullen is entitled to an hour rest period in between meetings because as soon as he comes into contact with any female, he will sport a raging hard-on._

Somehow I don't think that would go down very well with HR

Amid my internal ranting I'd somehow managed to miss that Edward's lips had moved from my mouth to my jaw line on a path down my neck. As much as I missed not having such _direct_ contact with him, this felt good. Like fucking _amazing _good. I was further distracted as his hands enveloped my breasts and kneaded them firmly, his thumbs making small circles around my nipples causing all sorts of noises to escape me. Anyone who had been unfortunate enough to hear would have probably thought I were in pain.

What the fuck is this man _doing_ to me?

I whimpered when after several minutes his hands left my chests and continued downwards, his lips following the path his hands had taken. I threw my head back in goodness knows what when his perfect lips latched on to one of my breasts. The throbbing between my legs, at this point had taken on a force of its own and was beginning to get slightly uncomfortable. Hell if I knew that was normal, all I knew was that I'd never been this turned on before.

I felt a spark shoot straight to the apex of my legs as he flicked my nipple with his tongue, bit it gently and then sucked it in between his lips. If he didn't already know I wasn't asthmatic he'd probably think I were having an attack right about now. I was breathing so heavily and starting to get hot, kind of clammy, and I wasn't even the one doing anything.

I was so absorbed with his boob satisfaction skills that I didn't notice his hands gripping the sides of my pyjama shorts and trying to shift them downwards. If his mouth hadn't moved away from my chest at that moment then I wouldn't have been able to speak.

"Edward, wha...what are you...doing?" Naturally it was to be expected that, being a novice recipient of Edward's boob skills, it would take me a while to learn to speak coherently soon after. I imagine it will come in time.

"Do you trust me love?" I had never, and this is saying something, _never _heard his voice sound sexier than right now. I mean, I could feel his breath against my stomach and as soon as he asked his question he began placing slow open mouthed kisses from one hip to the other. I mean really, is he trying to kill me?

_Why in the world are you hesitating? Whatever that man wants to do to you is perfectly fine. You're wasting valuable time, say yes, quickly, before he changes his mind._

"Y-yes. I mean...yes I do, of course I do." Faster than I thought possible for any male on a Saturday morning he shifted his body up so our hips were aligned and gave me a deep long I-never-ever-want-to-be-kissed-by-anyone-else kiss. Again I whimpered when he disappeared but gasped when I felt his thumbs hook my shorts and pull them down roughly. I must have looked quite frightening with my eyes as wide as they were but there wasn't a thing in the world I could do about it. Edward had his hands near _there_ and he was still kissing my stomach.

"I want to try something okay baby." His voice was like a caress down there and I secretly wondered what it would feel like to have his breath tickling...

_Good God woman do you have no sense of decency?_

No, apparently not.

"Mmmhmm, yeah, okay, that's fine, good." At least I didn't stutter so much this time.

_Still needs work though Swan, a lot of work. _

His hands were on my knees and slowly moving upwards, I was as still as I could be, waiting, anticipating, but what I was waiting _for_ I had no idea. Gradually his fingers reached the insides of my thighs and it felt like he was already touching me _there. _I could feel a tickling electric sensation making my legs start to hake a little and I wondered whether I was actually entirely normal.

Probably not.

His hands slowed at my thighs and his thumbs rubbed small tight circles in the tense muscles of my thighs, ordinarily I would have been able to concentrate on how fucking brilliant it felt but I was ever so slightly distracted by the other four digits that were heading a little more north. As soon as I felt his fingers touch me _privately _my legs automatically snapped shut but his hands pried them apart again. He moved up the bed once more but didn't stop his slow exploration with his second and middle finger.

I jumped when I felt his lips at my ear and groaned when I felt him lick the lobe once, twice and then nibble gently on the third time.

"Are you okay baby?" I clenched my eyes shut and nodded quickly as one of his fingers slipped between my folds and I felt like I'd been shocked, in a really, really _good _way. It didn't take long for him to slip his other fingers in but not _inside _me and quickly the tightness and throbbing began to intensify.

"Does that feel good?" Good was nowhere near accurate. He spoke as he pressed a finger up into me and I felt my muscles clenching him without my permission. He moved his finger slowly in as far as it would go up to his knuckle and then slowly back down so that only the tip was left touching me. It left me aching for more. I wanted to tell him how incredible it felt, leaving out the fact that it felt like a burning ache and I had no idea what would happen so I nodded quickly again.

"Not good enough Bella, talk to me, I can't read your mind, baby you have to tell me." I began to answer him when I felt his thumb press firmly down on what I remembered was called my clitoris, permanent sexual repression never allowing me to identify it beforehand. I gasped as I realised it really did seem to be a power button for my body. My hips flexed off the bed and my hands went to his hair instead of gripping the sheets I was lying on.

"Edward, gah...you have, oh fu-, no idea." He chuckled against my neck and I wanted to simultaneously smack him upside the head and tell him to shut up and continue what he was doing.

"I take it that was a positive response." His voice was low and smooth like before and I can't imagine anyone refusing him anything when he sounded like that. I couldn't answer him without moaning as I could feel his fingers speed up their movement with his thumb stroking me and his chest rubbing up against mine.

"Fuck, yes." My grip tightened in his hair as he stroked my outer lips and circled the outside of my clitoris slowly but firmly and we both groaned in unison.

"You feel so good Bella, I can't even tell you. So warm and tight and _wet. _Is that for me?" The combination of his voice whispering in my ear and the increasing speed of his fingers was bringing me closer and closer to something. Again, I didn't know what it was, but I knew my body had never felt like this.

"Yesss, Edward, you, only you." I scrunched my eyes shut in frustration and relaxed my vice grip on his hair, choosing to scrape my nails over his scalp instead of pulling the hair out by the roots.

"You know how _hard _ it makes me to know that I'm the only one to do this to you. That I can make you feel things you never knew existed." His tongue traced a path around the shell of my ear and dipped below my jaw before flicking my nipple.

"Let go love, come for me." And like a fucking Pavlovian experiment he pressed down hard on my clit with his thumb and bit my nipple as I felt a shockwave of pure _ecstasy _shoot through my bones. It took me what felt like forever to recover but hopefully it was only a couple of minutes. I covered my forehead with my arm trying to get my breath back and make sense of what just happened.

"Edward did I just...?" I didn't want to say it out loud but I had to know.

"Yes love."

"So that was a -"

"Yes sweetheart, the first of many."

"Wow." Understatement of the year.

In the midst of my 'recovery' Edward had moved up the bed to lie by my side with his arm around my waist. I liked that he wanted to hold me, I had no clue what to say after _that. _It seemed inappropriate to say thank you but that was exactly what I wanted to do. Obviously I had no point of reference on this so I just had to go with what I thought was best.

But I really, _really_ couldn't find the right words.

"Are you okay love?" He rolled over on his side and was cradling my face in between his big, soft hands. His voice was full of concern and I felt like such a selfish bitch for not talking to him. He probably thought I regretted letting him do that which quite frankly was the last thing on my mind.

"I'm sorry I just, I don't really know how to act after we – shit, after _that_. I should just be able to look into your eyes and smile and you'd know that I'm actually ok but obviously that's out the fucking window." Now I was frustrated with myself and feeling undeserving of all his patience, which I knew I was anyway.

"Hey hey hey, stop that. You're fine Bella. The only thing I care about is if _you're _ ok, that's all that matters. I just need you to tell me from time to time if I'm pushing things. This has nothing to do with you not being able to see, _you know that_." I wanted more than anything to be able to see him as he was talking, he sounded so incredibly genuine and honest. I wanted to stare into his eyes and he'd know everything I wanted to say without using words. Instead I settled for turning my face towards his palms and placing a kiss in the centre of each of them.

"Thank you." I nuzzled my face into his hands and rested my head on his chest, my hands tracing the sparse hair.

"For what?" I felt him kiss my head and I sighed in contentment.

"What you just said and...well, before, when you, when I, yeah. Thanks."

"That's my job love, to pleasure you, provide for you and protect you."

Oh Edward Cullen, you _do_ have a way with words. Good thing I didn't have much work to do this weekend.

**Et voila! The first of many indeed. I hope you all liked it.**

**As always questions / suggestions / comments are all welcome.**

**A/N – AT THE END OF CHAPTER 20 I WILL BE WRITING A SCENE/CHAPTER IN EPOV. PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO READ IN A REVIEW OR PM. **

**Have a lovely weekend,**

**Aurora**


	20. Complications and Awkward Conversations

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright October 2010.**_

**I was going to post this tomorrow, but it was all done so I thought, why not? I apologise if I give any male readers nightmares, just saying. For those of you who didn't like the shortness of the last chapter, this one is twice as long.**

_Last time…_

"_That's my job love, to pleasure you, provide for you and protect you." _

_Oh Edward Cullen, you do have a way with words. Good thing I didn't have much work to do this weekend. _

**Chapter 20 ****– Complications and Awkward Conversations**

"No, really, you should go. Reconnect over football or whatever it is you guys do."

"Baby are you sure? I can go any other time, I'm sure Emmett won't mind if I tell him -" I silenced him the only way I knew how, with my mouth, and groaned at how good he tasted. I almost, _almost,_ changed my mind and told him to stay but released my hands from the death grip on his hair instead as I pulled away.

"Go, have fun with your friend." I tried to simultaneously calm myself down and slow my breathing as I placed my palms flat on his chest, because I was currently pressed between him and the door. As I went to take a step forward he gently pushed me back and situated himself between my legs before pulling me flush against him.

"Ok, but I think I need more of a good-bye kiss than that." I was happy to oblige him as my hands crept over his muscular chest to his shoulders. Recognising my intentions, he grabbed two handfuls of my bottom and lifted me so I could wrap my legs around his waist causing me to pant and throb against him, not that I didn't love every second of it.

Usually I wasn't quite so bold but this would be the first night we had spent apart since making things official between us. I wasn't kidding myself, I knew I'd miss him, and God dammit if I didn't want to savour the taste of my boyfriend until tomorrow morning. It seemed like we were both on the same page as he pressed against me forcefully, his two day old stubble tickling my neck as he placed open mouthed kisses along my pulse point up to my jaw, driving me crazy in the process.

Nothing unusual there.

His lips and tongue were creating a fusion of delicious sensations, but it wasn't until I felt acute pressure, rather than pain, that I snapped back to reality.

"Edward, ungh _shit_ did you just…bite me?" I was half hoping I was right because it was pretty hot, and because I knew I could persuade him to _lick _it better.

"Just something to leave you with until tomorrow." He leaned in, poking his tongue out against the skin as he covered it gently and hummed, sending tingles through my neck straight down south.

Excellent, no persuasion needed.

"Gee thanks." I tried to sound nonchalant, and naturally I should be kind of disgusted, or at least freaked out but because it was to do with Edward, I only wanted more. And 'pretty hot' really didn't cover it.

Just as I was sure he was about to go in for another taste his phone vibrated and because we were already so close, it felt like it was in my pocket.

"That's Emmett, he's right outside." Once again, I squeezed my eyes shut in a mix of concentration and frustration to try and focus.

_Must not beg Edward to stay, must not beg Edward to stay, must not beg Edward to stay. _

I disentangled myself from him, opening my front door as I did so.

"So you're kicking me out now?" He stepped out but not before grabbing me by my hips and pulling me towards him; his breath tickled my cheeks so I could tell our mouths were already close.

"Yeah, something like that." My attempt at being serious dissolved as my tongue slipped out to taste his bottom lip before pulling it gently between my own. After a couple of minutes of heavy breathing, mauling each other and another call from Emmett I really did push him out the door. At this rate he wouldn't be going anywhere.

And that's a _bad _thing because…?

"You'll be the death of me Miss Swan."

"Not likely Mr Cullen." His only response was to snort and make me promise to call him when I got in tomorrow and had seen my schedule. I didn't bother telling him 'goodbye' because it just made me feel even more pathetic because of how much I knew I was already going to miss him. Instead I wished him a good time and to say hi to Emmett for me, even though I'd never met the guy.

As soon as I'd shut the door I leant against it heavily and tried to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. When Edward had received a call from his friend this morning about going to a bar this evening to catch up I didn't even think about telling him he couldn't go, I really didn't feel I had the right to. It didn't mean I wanted him to though.

Hours later I crawled into bed and didn't have the energy to shift Sheila off of what I affectionately called 'Edward's' side of the bed. She whined softly and I settled for gently scratching her behind her ears until she fell asleep.

_It's just you and me tonight girl, just like old times. _

Other than her body heat, the sheets were cold where they had been warm for the past couple of weeks, the man emitted a ridiculous amount of body heat and I'd evidently gotten used to it. I lay on my back trying to clear my mind of the fact that Edward wasn't beside me, _where he should be,_ but all I could think about was the fact that any other night his head would've been nestled into my chest. Or, if I were lying on my side, how he'd lay behind me, his leg slung over mine and his arm around my waist.

I found myself once again trying to blink away the traitorous tears and focus on trying not to be so dependent and the fact that I'd be with him in the morning anyway. Not that I'd get to wake up next to him, which sucked big time, but I was guaranteed a kiss before lunch at least. We'd missed our weekly review on Friday so I'd rescheduled for Monday morning.

After a fitful, at best, night's sleep I woke up, doing my usual feline stretch only to stop short when I felt pain. Real pain. Not like hitting my knee against a table or stubbing my toe on a door, but real, eye bulging, fist clenching pain.

_Shit. What the hell is _wrong_ with me?_

My hands went to my stomach which didn't do any good as I was feeling it in my back as well, I couldn't do any good to either part by applying pressure so I had no idea what to do.

_Fuck. _The only time I ever felt something like this was when I first started –

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Oh fuck a duck Sheila why does this have to happen today?" I braced one hand behind me trying to push myself up as slowly as possible with the least amount of pain and the other holding my balloon shaped stomach.

Period. Jesus how the _fuck _had I forgotten?

I'd always struggled with that time of the month. Ok, so 'struggle' was a bit of an understatement, it could be a real problem sometimes, especially if I was at work and because I wasn't exactly coming on every four weeks. See, most girls become 'regular' after a few years of starting but some, like me, continue to have problems well into their twenties, irregularity and acute pain being the two most significant inconveniences. Oh and let's not forget the 'preggy belly' as Renee used to call it, that wasn't so great either.

Fact is, for the past couple of years, things had been better than ever because Esme Cullen, wonder woman that she is, recommended I talk to my GP about an anti-inflammatory drug called Naproxen. She'd tried something very similar when she was younger and it had worked wonders. Personally I didn't think she gave it enough credit, it was literally a miracle drug, for me anyway. As long as I took it three times a day when I was about to start I could say goodbye to the 'preggy belly', but even better, my stomach and back didn't feel like they were being ripped open.

Of course said miracle drug only worked when I took it, and I could only do that if I had remembered to put in a repeat prescription the previous month, which this month I had evidently forgotten to do.

I hunted around the bathroom frantically for the piece of paper I usually kept in a drawer allowing me to pick up another prescription without going to the GP first, but with no luck. Unfortunately normal pain relief generally didn't have any effect for this sort of thing.

I stood underneath the shower for a goof half an hour cursing my own stupidity but at the same time, rejoicing in the feel of the scalding hot water on my aching back and stomach. Soothing, burning goodness.

There was no way I could go into work this morning, not like this. I had to find some alternate solution if I was going in this afternoon, the first day was always the worst but I was determined not to take a full day off. I thought of grabbing some breakfast to fill my stomach with something but suddenly the idea of food made me feel nauseous so I decided against it.

I left Jake a quick message saying I wouldn't be going in this morning so he didn't have to worry about picking me up but I'd be ok for tomorrow. After debating for an hour whether to go back to bed or try and contact people from the office I called Angela's desk, knowing she'd be in by eight on a Monday.

"Good morning Mr Cullen's office how can I help?" She sounded so fresh and chirpy this morning, everything I wasn't.

"Hi Angela, it's me, Bella."

"Oh Bella, thank goodness, are you on your way? You've got a nine o'clock with Edward and he's getting fidgety." She sounded exasperated and I couldn't help but laugh to myself.

Clearly by fidgety she meant he was pacing up and down his office making a nuisance of himself.

"Uh, well no actually I don't think I'll be in this morning. I'm not feeling too well."

"Oh no. It's not the flu is it, because Ben said he was feeling bad the other day and I told him that it's always the way this time of year and - " I cut her off, hoping she'd let it be.

"No, I don't think Ben and I have the same thing." Unless he has ovaries, which would be very disturbing.

"Are you sure? I have some Lemsips in my bag and I know they taste disgusting but they always work and -"

Oh God.

"Angela, I don't have what Ben has, I'm just not _feeling very good at the moment_." A moment of silence elapsed before it seemed to dawn on her. Thank _God _I didn't have to say _that_ out loud.

"Oh, ohhh, ok, yep, I get it. Absolutely fine, you uh, you come in when you're feeling better, I'll just let Edward know you have to cancel. Is there anything else I can do?"

Ok, so this wasn't one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, but it made it to the top five for sure.

And then it occurred to me, yes there _was_ something she could do for me.

"Actually, yeah, could you do me a huge favour? Could you call Doctor Philip's office please? The number's 763907 if you could try and arrange an appointment for this afternoon please, or tomorrow morning, that'd be great. I think I'm going back to bed but can you call me when you've done it."

"Yes, absolutely, not a problem, you get better now Bella. See you later."

"Thanks Angela, you're a star."

Even though I'd already showered I flopped back to bed and let sleep overtake me, trying not to concentrate on the pain and just let my mind wander into dreamland.

Surprisingly I managed to sleep for a couple of hours and was shocked at how much I'd obviously needed the rest. I didn't recognise the source of my wake up call until my hand landed on my blackberry which had been on my bedside table.

Still half asleep and feeling horrible I answered the phone without requesting who it was from Renee.

"Hello, Bella Swan."

"Why haven't you been answering my calls? I've rung you like a dozen times and all I can get from Angela is that you're sick. And then I overhear that she's making you a doctor's appointment. I've been worried about you. What's wrong? You were fine yesterday."

For a moment I seriously wondered whether Edward had been drinking one too many Red Bull. As I listened to him I realised he really _was_ worried, and I could imagine by this point, he was a hell of a lot more than fidgety.

"Yeah, I'm just, not feeling very well." I really, _really _didn't want to be having this conversation with him of all people. I prayed that he'd accept my explanation and let it lie.

But of course, he didn't.

"Bullshit, you'd try and come into work even if you'd broken a leg, I _know_ you. And besides, you go to the doctor when you're _sick_, not just _not feeling very well_, something must be wrong, why aren't you telling me? Dammit Bella, how am I supposed to look after you if you won't tell me what's wrong?" I winced as I imagined him pulling at his hair with his free hand and pressing the phone to his ear. I cringed inwardly as I recognised everything he was saying as being true.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine tonight." I really wanted to calm him down; it wouldn't do either of us any good if anyone could overhear the conversation we were having.

"Not good enough. Tell me what's wrong. Is it a stomach bug? A cold? The _flu_?" Hell he was a stubborn bastard, but I was exactly the same.

"No, just drop it ok, I'm alright." I really was a terrible liar; I didn't have any hope of deterring him.

"Look, I've locked the door to my office, I have a meeting with the legal team in fifteen minutes and I will keep calling you back until you tell me what –" I closed my eyes and said it all at once, more embarrassed than ever.

"It's my cycle ok? You know, my time of the month, my _period._" My tone was cutting and I didn't mean to sound so agitated. I couldn't hear a single sound from the other end of the phone. You know the kind of silence when you tell your boyfriend you're on your period and it's the first time you've talked about that kind of stuff?

Yeah, it was _that _kind of silence.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he hung up on me and refused to acknowledge we'd ever had this conversation, in fact, it'd be fine by me if he wanted to forget we'd ever spoken today.

Man, I know how to drop a conversation on its head.

"I'm sorry; I was just really concerned." His voice was so soft and I felt like a complete bitch for not seeing his worrying for what it was; _genuine concern._

"You're _apologizing _for being worried about me? I should be the one saying sorry, if this was reversed I would've worried about you too." Now I just felt plain stupid, clearly Edward wasn't as freaked out as I expected him to be.

"Do you need anything? I can go to the pharmacy. Are you in any pain?" Now _he _was the one who sounded like he was in pain, but he really should've gotten the hint.

"Actually, that's what the doctor's appointment was for. I usually take prescription tablets so I can't get them over the counter. I can't find my repeat prescription form and I usually just drop that in to the pharmacy."

"Oh right, well uh, is there anything else that helps, with you know, that?" I giggled at the hesitance in his voice.

"No, I'll be ok. I might take a bath in a bit and try and come in around half one or two. The morning is always the worst."

"Alright, well I'll come over as soon as I'm finished with Caius."

"No, really you don't have to -" He interrupted me and I could just imagine if we were together how he would place his hand over my mouth to shut me up.

"I'm coming over. You don't get a choice. You're going to have to accept the fact that I _want _to look after you so I _will. _And I _always_ get what I want Bella."

Well fuck me sideways. His commanding voice over the phone was doing illegal things to my girly bits.

"Next time you talk to me like that, be ready for me to jump you."

Where the _shit _did _that _come from?

"I'm ready for you love, anytime you feel the urge." I knew his lips were pulled up into a smile and I just wanted to kiss him.

"_Edward."_ The harsh reality that I couldn't do anything about wanting him so badly was frustrating me. Jesus Christ my boobs were _aching _from lack of contact, or it could have been the period thing, either way, it wasn't good.

"I'll be there in an hour." We hung up soon after and I changed into my dressing gown, glad not to have anything remotely tight around my swollen stomach. I swear if Edward still wants me after seeing me like this, it'll be down to divine intervention, either that or I did something really, _really good_ in a past life.

The sound of knocking on my front door snapped me out of my reverie, and I hauled myself up from the sofa where I'd been listening to one of the presentations given this morning. Angela had been kind enough to send it over. Not only that, but she'd confirmed an appointment for me at six today after work. Apparently Dr Philips runs an evening clinic on Mondays. Hallelujah.

I fumbled with my dressing gown making sure it covered all the necessary bits and smiled as I pulled the door open with my free hand. Immediately I was pulled into Edward's warm embrace and I had to remind myself to breathe.

_Home._

_God_ he smelled good. I'd have to spray my sheets with his cologne or something equally pathetic if we ever had to spend a night apart again. Not that I ever wanted that to happen.

"Are you sniffing me?" He seemed amused but he couldn't really talk, his head was buried in the crook of my neck against my hair and I knew he was doing the same.

"Sheila does it to you all the time. I don't see why I should miss out." His only response was to hug me tighter and I couldn't help but yelp when I felt the added pressure on my stomach.

"Shit sorry, does it hurt that much?"

"No, I guess it's just tender, it's worse than it looks." He closed the door behind him and his hand snaked through the folds of my dressing gown and rested on my bloated bulge.

"Attractive huh? Don't worry it'll go down, it's just for today. Tomorrow no 'preggy belly' I promise."

He didn't say anything, he just stroked his hand gently and _lovingly _over my stomach.

The only reason the silence was uncomfortable was because of my own embarrassment, he seemed perfectly happy to continue his inspection in silence.

"You okay there?" Unless I have a tattoo I don't know about on my stomach, I don't see what's so interesting.

"Yeah." His voice was faraway and wistful and I would have given anything to know what he was thinking.

"You're not running away and screaming. Why not?" Is this a normal boyfriend reaction? Isn't there _supposed _to be running and screaming? Or even lack of acknowledgement?

"You not scaring me Bella Swan, I'm not going anywhere." His voice was soft and velvety but with something else underneath it that I couldn't recognise. The conversation was becoming entirely too serious for my liking so naturally I had to make light of it.

"Not even when I do the eyebrow thing?" I smiled up at him and pulled the hand that was on my stomach up to my face so I could place a kiss in his palm. He walked me back slowly until I was about to hit the kitchen counter but put his hand back to brace against the surface so my back wouldn't hit it.

Always so considerate.

His lips met mine in a passionate kiss and I wound one hand up to the hair at the nape of his neck and the other clung to his shirt, pulling him closer. He'd probably have a wrinkled shirt by the time he went back this afternoon and I almost, _almost _felt bad. Not quite though.

The pressure of his leg in between both of mine was making me throb uncomfortably but I knew because of my _situation_ that I wouldn't be able to do anything to relieve the tension.

"I missed you baby." He held my face in his hands and I couldn't help but sigh in contentment. I opened my eyes to him and spoke.

"I missed you too, like silly, ridiculous amounts. Did you have a good time with Emmett?"

"Yeah, it was good to catch up, he says hi by the way, and he wants to meet you. He's been bugging me about it for ages."

"You should introduce us. He's your best friend; I'd love to meet him." I rested my head against his chest listening to the steady, soothing rhythm of his heart.

"Sure, I'll tell him. I would've done it earlier but I kind of wanted to keep you to myself for a while." I nodded against him because I knew what he meant, not that I had a ton of friends waiting to meet _my_ new boyfriend but I understood his hesitation, it seemed we didn't get enough time for just _us. _

"You know it's really weird, my bed didn't actually feel _right_ without you in it last night."

"I'm glad, because that's where I intend on spending my nights for the foreseeable future." He reached down and pulled me by my hips towards him, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

_The foreseeable future. _I decided to think about that later.

"I ran a bath so I should probably get in it before it gets cold. I won't be long; my laptop's open on my bed if you need to do anything." I tried to unwind myself from his arms but they stayed solidly around my hips as he leaned into me to speak.

"The very last thing in the world I want to do when my girlfriend is in the bath is _work. _You get in, I'll be there in a sec. I need to bring some bags in." He stepped away from me and I navigated my way towards my en-suite.

"Bags? I ordered food at the weekend, what have you got?" I called to him and my curiosity was piqued as I started getting undressed in the bathroom.

"Surprise, get in and I'll tell you." I was more than confused as I thought about what he could possibly mean. The only thing I had on was underwear and my pendant ring that Edward had given me, which I'd only taken off to shower. Once I'd immersed myself in the hot water I heard his footsteps come in and he settled himself on the bath stool that I'd brought over.

"Sweetheart, don't you think you went overboard on the bubble-bath?" He spoke as he pulled my hair up into a messy bun and trailed his fingers over my lips. Something completely out of character occurred to me and I suddenly wanted to suck them into my mouth, one by one. So I did.

After my ministrations I blushed at my being so bold but realised I didn't actually _care. _If I wanted his fingers in my mouth, fingers that were _beyond_ magical, then I'd suck on them to my heart's content.

"_Fuck _Bella." Now, I may feel bad for swearing and cursing as much as I do, but there is nothing, _absolutely nothing_ bad about Edward swearing. That man could turn the phonebook into erotica.

Satisfied that my special attention to his digits had had the desired effect, I spoke to him in my most level voice.

"You can never have too much bubble-bath, plus it gives me much needed coverage." And I feel even _more _naked knowing he's all dressed in his work clothes.

"_Unnecessary_ coverage, you forget I've already seen you naked." His voice was rougher, _much rougher _than before and I could feel his hand circling the water like a shark near my breasts, probably pushing some of the bubbles away.

"But I like the bubbles, plus this stuff smells good." Vanilla and coconut always hit the spot.

_Could you__ sound more like a four year old?_

"Well, when we have a bath _together, _you can have as many bubbles as you want. And I can still enjoy you. How does that sound love?" I was sitting upright and his lips were at my neck, a thin sheen of sweat covering my skin from the hot water and being in the vicinity of Edward Cullen.

"Mmmmmhm." I could only manage a shaky nod at this point, speech wasn't really viable.

"Good thing you didn't come in this morning Miss Swan. You have this purple mark on your neck which I'm sure would've raised questions. Care to enlighten me?" He ran his lips over said _bite _as he spoke.

"Not my fault Mr Cullen, my boyfriend's a wild animal. I have no control over him whatsoever."

"I disagree Miss Swan. I think _you_ drive_ him_ wild, I think you're the one in control." I smiled lazily and turned my head so our lips would meet, inwardly rejoicing when I felt his tongue massage mine and our mouths move together in perfect synchronisation.

I whimpered as he pulled away and one hand started massaging circles at the base of my neck while the other was submersed underwater, palming my right breast and kneading it achingly slowly but very gently.

"Your boobs are fuller. I can feel it, only slightly, but there's definitely a difference." I gasped as his tongue peeked out and licked me slowly underneath my ear.

"Trust you to notice." His thumb rubbed against my nipple and I groaned far too loudly as the sensations shot through me.

"Part of the job love." Both my hands were strained against the side of the bath but as he leaned over me to give himself more leverage, my hand came into contact with his trouser clad bulge and we moaned simultaneously.

"_Edward_, fuck, what are you, oh God, what are you doing to me?" I resisted the urge to sit up straighter in the water. See how he liked getting wet.

"Aren't I making you feel good baby?" Like me he sounded short of breath but I wanted to slap the smile off his face with my hand like a wet fish.

_Am I making you feel good? _What does he _think? _He's _breathing_ isn't he?

"I have to go to work soon, which means that I cannot be thinking about your hands over my breasts and that monster between your legs all the while I'm trying to fix whatever disaster has bound to have happened this morning." I fixed a stern look on my face but I was convinced it had little to no effect.

"I'm sorry love." Sorry my arse.

"No you're not."

"No, I'm really not." Since he'd taken his hand out of the water I turned my own palm up so he could place his hand in mine, just like I wanted. I intertwined our fingers and let my head fall back against the back of the bath tub, content to relax and just _be. _

"Hey you said earlier you brought bags in. What did you get?"

"Oh, that, right. Well after we spoke on the phone I figured that there's got to be some stuff to help with the, you know, the _period_ thing -" I interrupted him by bursting into laughter and almost covering him in bubbles.

"What, what did I say?" I struggled to regain my composure and squeezed his hand in an effort to keep a straight face.

"Sweetheart, if you're _that _uncomfortable saying that, then call it something else." He huffed in annoyance as I continued in my silent laughter.

"Shut up. As I was saying, I _bought _you some stuff that might help with your _time of the month_. There, that better?" I instantly felt bad for laughing at him when he'd clearly been slightly uncomfortable anyway and because he was trying to look after me.

"Yeah, what kind of stuff?" He started rifling through the bag he'd brought in with him and listed the items one by one.

"Hot chocolate because you've run out, red wine, and I picked up a glass from my place because I couldn't be bothered to go through your cupboards, a hot water bottle and a bottle of bubble bath, which you evidently have an industrial sized stash of."

"Wow, thanks, I mean, that's perfect thank you."

"You're welcome love, I read this thing on the internet that said that chocolate is supposed to help, something about cravings. The red wine should help with the pain a bit, you know, before you get your meds. I thought when we come home tonight we could have hot chocolate in those small bowl things you haven't used yet. Sound good?"

I nodded my head in affirmation and asked him to pass me a towel so I could get out and dry myself off.

"Do you want some help?" His voice lingered next to my ear and I could feel his breath on my cheek.

"Getting me a towel would be a _great_ help."

"No I meant I wanted to -"

"I know what you meant. I just, right now, I don't feel very you know, presentable." Please don't push me on this Edward.

"Nobody's presentable when they're naked baby; I think that's the point."

"Look, I know for some strange reason you have no qualms with this", I gestured vaguely to the rest of my body, putting emphasis on my stomach, "but I do, okay? It's not that I don't want _you _touching me, I think we both know where I stand on that." I could already tell he was disappointed but I couldn't cave, he wasn't purposely trying to make me uncomfortable but I couldn't help it feeling so.

"Okay, fine, I'll be outside." His hand left mine and I heard his retreating footsteps leave the room and I groaned as I rubbed my hands over my face. Luckily he'd left a towel hanging over the side so I didn't have to go on a blind hunt for one, no pun intended.

I quickly grabbed the underwear I'd left out earlier in the bathroom and wrapped my dressing gown around me as I called out to him.

"Where are you?" I pulled my hair down and shook it out over my shoulders before wringing my hands together nervously.

"On the bed." I walked towards the middle of the bottom of my bed and stopped when he reached out and took my hand in his, telling me I'd found him.

"I know you have confidence issues and I'll admit, it's hard not to push you to forget them, but _please _I want you to trust me."

"That has nothing to do with it, I _do_ trust you." My response came automatically and it was completely true. He'd never given me a reason _not _to trust him and I couldn't imagine feeling any other way. I stepped so I was in between his legs, my palms cradling his face with my thumbs on his warm cheeks. I couldn't feel him smiling and I wanted that to change, pronto.

"I trust you with everything Edward. Everything about me is laid bare for you to see, I couldn't hide anything from you and more importantly, I wouldn't _want to._ But more than that, I want us to be able to share things like that when we can do it equally."

"What do you mean? We _are _equ -" I placed two fingers gently over his mouth as I stopped him.

"That's the thing, we're not." I'd been thinking about this for a couple of days now and even if this wasn't the best time to air my feelings it would just have to do.

"But -"

"Let me finish. I want to be able to give you things too, and I'm not just talking about money, but you spend enough on me as it is."

"Nothing compared to what I want to." He loosened up a bit as he ran his hands up and down my thighs.

"I don't want to talk about money right now. I'm talking about...physically. We're not equal like that."

"This is about Saturday isn't it? You know the only reason I said no was because I didn't want you to feel pressured into doing anything, and I wanted to do that for you. We're not in competition here."

"I know, and believe me, it feels weird saying this because I've never wanted anyone the way I want you, but I just want to be close to you. I want to feel you like you can me." _And I want to touch you._ I felt his head nod against my chest where he had been resting it and I was glad we hadn't argued.

"Sorry about the snapping earlier, that's something else that happens. I'm not actually mad at you I'm just going crazy with the hormones."

"That's ok." His tone was lighter now and I leaned down to press my lips against his and instead of staying upright he pulled me down with him and rolled me over so he was holding himself above me.

I grinned as I was able to kiss him more comfortably and I wrapped my arms around his neck, smiling against his mouth.

"We should go to work." He spoke as he nibbled my top lip and I enveloped his bottom one in mine. Work could wait another five or ten minutes.

I'm glad one of us is still thinking straight.

I smiled as Sheila and I climbed the steps at the front of my apartment building on the way back from my appointment with Dr Philips. I felt silly having to go and see him just for the purpose of getting another prescription but something occurred to me while I was there. I recounted the conversation I'd had with the good doctor in my head and how I was shocked when he asked me whether or not I'd considered taking hormone control pills, also known as oral contraception.

We'd discussed the advantages of taking the pill over my usual medication and I had to admit that it sounded a hell of a lot more simple than what I was doing now. I could even take the Naproxen _with_ the pill if I _really_ needed it. He'd asked me the same question every year since I was sixteen when I came for my annual check-up and every time I'd automatically said no.

Now, however, my situation was slightly different. I mean, it wasn't as if we were having sex already, but if I ever lost my virginity I knew it would be to Edward. I'd had ideals when I was younger of not giving myself to a man unless I was married, and although the idea of being married to Edward had crossed my mind, and it wasn't altogether unpleasant, I wasn't too sure. But the sex thing, that was something I was _definitely _interested in.

The thing was though; I wasn't sure how to tell Edward about deciding to go on the pill without seeming totally confident about the idea of us having sex. I definitely needed to think about that more. Although knowing me, I'd probably blurt it out at dinner anyway. Maybe it was just best to tell him when he asked me about my appointment.

Before that though, I wanted to give him his present. It wasn't exactly romantic or incredibly expensive, I actually felt bad because it had cost barely anything compared to what I imagined he'd spent on me in the past. I hoped it would make him happy anyway. I was certainly happy to give it to him, but I did worry about it being a little bit too soon to be doing this sort of thing. It wasn't as if I had any past point of reference, it just felt _right._

I gripped the key I had in my pocket with my spare hand and unlocked my door with my own key. I left work slightly earlier than Edward because of my appointment but he wanted to go home and change before coming over to me anyway so I had a few minutes before he'd arrive.

Before I'd even finished shedding my work clothes I heard a knock at my door. I pulled on the jeans I'd worn at the weekend and one of Edward's jumpers that he'd left on the bed. It was miles too big and I had to roll the sleeves up but it was _so _warm, and it smelled like him.

And that's always a good thing.

I took the first pill out of the packet and swallowed it down with some water before trying not to trip up as I walked to get the door, present in pocket.

I was giddy as I opened the door, perhaps it was late effects of the glass of red wine Edward had convinced me to drink for my stomach, or maybe it was nerves about giving him his present and his reaction to it.

"Sorry I didn't call you when I finished, I thought you wouldn't be too much longer there anyway... Edward?" I glanced up when I didn't hear anything from him but squealed _like a little girl _when he pulled me by my belt loops towards him for a kiss. I fisted his shirt, this time not caring whether it creased or not, no more work today. Instead of the passionate kiss I was expecting his lips caressed mine sensually and I had to pull away to breathe it felt so intense.

"What brought this on?" I held his hand as I pulled him through to the living room, sitting down on the sofa as he situated himself with his head on my lap.

"You do know you're wearing my jumper right?" He picked up one of my hands and started playing with my fingers, tickling my palm with his short but neat nails.

"Uh, yeah, it was on the bed. You want it back?" Seriously? I couldn't imagine him being bothered about me wearing his jumper, weird.

"No, love. It's just really...sexy. You wearing my things, I like it, a _lot_."

_Sexy?_ Me? In _mens_ clothes? Pffft. I was just in it for the comfort and olfactory delight, but if it turned him on, then even better.

"How did your appointment go? You get your pills ok?"

"Yeah, all good now. He gave me three months worth so I don't have to panic if I forget next time." The pill conversation would have to come later, which was good because I needed time to think about it.

"That's good. Oh, before I forget to tell you, we're having dinner with Esme and Carlisle Friday night, she wouldn't take no for an answer." I would have laughed except I knew just how ruthless Esme could be, which is why I have great respect for Carlisle. I nodded in understanding.

"Sure, sounds good, are we staying?"

"Yeah I said we would, I don't want Seth to take us home that late. I thought we could visit your Dad during the day and then come back home for dinner."

_Home._ Now really seemed like the right time to bring up his present.

"Bella? That's ok right? You didn't mention you had plans so I just assumed..." he sounded confused and was halfway sitting up when I put my hand on his chest to push him down again.

"I got you a key." I cringed at my lack of elegance and felt nervous at his lack of response, "and that's fine by the way, for this weekend, sounds great."

"Wait a minute, you got me a key?" He sounded confused and I couldn't blame him, I wouldn't have been that excited if I didn't know what the key was _for_.

"For this place, for my apartment. You know, so if I'm not here or whatever you can just come and -" I screamed as he reached up and flipped us over so I was lying on my back on the sofa with him on top of me, my mouth otherwise occupied as he pulled me up for a kiss making me feel just how _happy _he was.

"Are you asking me to move in?" Yeah, I guess I am.

"Only if you want to -" I laughed this time as he shut me up again, clearly I talk too much.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes I am. I want you around all the time and I know it's probably too soon _conventionally_ but it just feels _right_, don't you think? I mean you kind of half live here anyway."

"I've never given a fuck for _conventions._"

"Obviously, says the CEO dating his advisor."

"Don't you mean the CEO _living _with his advisor?"

"So that's a yes?" I was beaming under him and reached up to cradle his face in my hands.

"That's a definite yes. Thank you so much darling." He started peppering kisses along my jaw line and I knew tonight would be a late one.

"Darling? That's new. I like it; it sounds nice in your accent." Just like every other word that comes out of your mouth.

"Good, get used to it."

**15**** pages and over 7000 words, I'd say that's the longest ever!**

**Thank you to the lovely people who sent me ideas for what they want to read for the EPOV outtake but before I start it would be great to hear from more of you. So far it's basically either when Edward first met Bella onwards or when they first had dinner together and things started heating up.**

**I'm not totally sure when I'll post the outtake but if you want to read it then put me on Author Alert so you don't miss it.**

**Have a lovely weekend readers,**

**Aurora**


	21. Element of Surprise

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright November 2010.**_

**Thank you for all my reviews and the reviewers that keep coming back every time, I read your words and they make me smile, you give me an audience and a reason to carry on with this little story of mine. So thank you, truly.**

_Last time…_

"_Don't you mean the CEO living with his advisor?"_

"_So that's a yes?" I was beaming under him and reached up to cradle his face in my hands._

"_That's a definite yes. Thank you so much darling." He started peppering kisses along my jaw line and I knew tonight would be a late one. _

"_Darling?__" That's new. I like it; it sounds nice in your accent." Just like every other word that comes out of your mouth._

"_Good, get used to it." _

**Chapter 21 – Element of Surprise**

"Junior, what part of _no_ don't you understand?" I was rubbing my temples in frustration, trying to soothe the headache I had been nursing all day. Let's just say Edward wasn't _helping._

"Baby, we're going to have to tell them at some point, I don't see what's wrong with tonight." I could just tell he was looking over at me, trying to read my expression, but I honestly couldn't be bothered to tell him to keep his eyes on the road. I leaned my head back against the soft leather headrest of his car and sighed.

"I just want to have a nice dinner with you and your parents, no drama, no misunderstandings, no interrogations, just food, wine and then bed." I placed my hand in the console between our seats, knowing he'd take it, I smiled when he did.

"You're making a bigger deal out of this than is necessary Bella. All we have to do is sit them down and explain, we're both adults, we're not doing anything wrong."

"First, have you met your parents? There's no way they'll take this lightly, especially your Dad, second, you know why we can't be public about _us_, and we've been over this. Don't fight me on this Edward, please."

"How about a compromise?" His voice was lighter and I knew I'd end up giving in to him eventually, he sounded like he'd thought of something. I gestured for him to go on so he continued.

"We tell them after Christmas, we'll both feel less stressed because we'll have gotten the bid for the Quileute group, and then we can think about how to handle work and everyone else." I had no choice but to nod in agreement. It wasn't that I wanted to keep us a secret; I just wish we could act like a normal couple all of the time, but because of our mutual positions at work, that just wasn't possible, for now. Unless...

_No Bella, you made a promise to Carlisle, you signed a contract to see this project through until the end. It's important to honour that agreement. _

I despaired at my immediate thought of changing my job; I hated myself for being weak and wanting to take the easy way out, because if we weren't working together, things wouldn't be nearly as complicated. But the thought of not being with him everyday, that was definitely a negative.

We would have to sort something out; nothing else was plausible, nobody on the team, especially none of the Board, could know that Edward and I were romantically involved. It was bad enough that Angela knew, but we both knew we could trust her, so it wasn't so bad. The real issue was that if members of the board, who had pledged millions to projects other than mine, found out, they would argue that the Quileute project was being given unfair precedence because I was running it; they would question Edward's capacity as CEO and he could lose his job. I simply wouldn't allow that to happen. I wouldn't allow us to give them any reason to question Edward, in any way.

Carlisle Cullen was a different matter altogether. He remained a part of the Board of the company as long as he was a major shareholder. If he was seen to be withholding information, such as my involvement with Edward, then his name would be sullied, I was sure of it. I knew there were people out there who didn't like Carlisle and I didn't want to give them any ammunition. There was no way I was going to stand by and watch someone like Carlisle be blamed and ridiculed for something I could control. He, Edward and my father were the most important men in my life, without a doubt, and I would do whatever I could to protect them, which was why we had to wait.

"Penny for your thoughts love." His thumb was rubbing soothing circles in my hand and I realised there was something I had to do before we got to his parents house for dinner.

"Can you pull over please? Everything's fine I just need to do something." I heard the engine change from its raw to a soft purr as we slowed to a stop at what a presumed to be a pull-in of a country road.

"Where are we?" He was round to my side quicker than I expected, unbuckling my seatbelt and helping me out of the car.

"A couple of miles away from the house, now what's wrong?" He sounded concerned and I smiled wondering whether his forehead creased when he was worried about something.

"Nothing, I just really want to kiss you." I ran my hands up his chest, past his neck to cup his cheeks as I stretched up on my toes to bring my lips to his. I smiled as soon as I felt his warm soft lips on mine and moaned far too loudly when his hand began rubbing circles in my lower back, his picky coming frustrating close to my bum.

I gasped when his other hand pulled on my shoulder, forcing us even closer together, now we were connected from head to toe and it felt wonderful, I let my hand rest at the nape of his neck but accidently tugged hard when I felt his tongue dive into my mouth. I never could get used to that, and I never wanted to, I loved constantly being surprised by him, never knowing what to expect, but knowing it would feel fantastic.

I loved how he always tasted so good and I moaned when I felt him massage my tongue with his, all the while pulling me closer and making me desperate for him. He switched us around quickly so I was the one leaning against the car while he leant over me. His hands were at my waist and I could feel him slowly trying to separate my silk blouse from the skirt I was wearing so he could get to my skin.

I pulled away for a second and smiled slightly when he grunted in disappointment, I ran my thumb over his full lips and marvelled at just how lucky I was. Pressing my forehead against his, I whispered softly to him. "Never doubt how much I want you, how much I want _this_. I just want it to be us two for a little while longer." For emphasis I pressed my lips to his for a soft kiss and laughed when he wouldn't let me pull away again.

"Edward…we're going to be…Edward _stop_." I was trying not to laugh against his mouth as he tried in vain to hitch my leg over his hip, which unfortunately, the fabric of my dress just wouldn't allow. He shifted closer to me and that's when I felt it against my hip, big and hard. I could feel myself blushing but curiosity got the better of me so I slowly reached down between us and ran my fingers over the cloth covered bulge. What I wasn't prepared for was his reaction.

"Shit, fuck, Bella, do we have to go to dinner?" He manoeuvred himself so he was pressing against my centre and when he started rubbing himself up against me it was my turn to gasp.

_Fuck, what's that going to feel like with no clothes_. _What's it going to feel like _inside _of you?_

It wasn't the first time I'd thought about sex with Edward, not by a long shot, but every day I found myself wanting more, always _more._ I had to be sensible about this though, one step at a time, or I'd end up freaking myself out and I wanted to experience everything with him, he'd be my first in every way.

I knew I had to talk to Edward about going on the pill, it was important for him to know the things I'd been thinking about and how I was ready, constantly nowadays, to take things further. He had the patience of a saint but I knew if he told me he wanted more, at any point, I'd give it to him. I needed to show him how much I appreciated him going slowly with me. I guess it was just time to speed things up a little, which I was more than willing to do.

In the middle of my mental discussion Edward was busy showing me all the reasons why we should stay home. One hand was drawing circles around my cloth covered breast and the other was on the side of my face as he ravaged my mouth with his. The throbbing in between my legs was disrupting all rational thought and all I could think about was continuing this in bed with far _fewer_ layers. I was seriously considering calling them and cancelling when a wave of guilt overtook me and I knew no matter how _bloody fantastic_ Edward felt against me right now, we had to wait.

_Later, just wait until later, and then you can touch him all you want. _

When breathing became a difficulty I tugged on his hair and he pulled away, but I couldn't resist kissing him once more behind his ear and whispering "later" to him as I tried to straighten out my clothes.

"You're going to pay for that tonight, now I have to sit through dinner thinking about where that would have gone. I'm glad you're wearing a thong, maybe it won't be _so _bad after all." He reached around and grabbed two handfuls of my bottom as he spoke, causing me to yelp. He helped me in the car but before he started up the engine I leaned over his side, gripping onto his shirt with one hand and moving forward to whisper in his ear.

"I can't wait to pay your back for all you've given me, because I really am very, _very_ grateful." And I knew it was about time I showed him just how much, but that would have to wait, until later at least.

"Really?" He sounded hopeful and surprised because he was referring to us being together in his parent's house. For once I was grateful for the Cullen's extravagance, my room was on a completely different floor to Carlisle and Esme's so we didn't have to worry about ever being heard. It wasn't as if we were going to have sex or anything, but I knew I didn't want to sleep without him and I owed him big time for last weekend and this week. I'd packed something from Rose's weekend collection that I'd been a little too scared to wear before but now I just hope I can deliver. I was sure as hell going to try.

"Did you bring the wine and the flowers?" I had a sudden moment of panic, good thing Edward was slightly more organised.

"Right here baby, stop fussing." I wanted to smack him for talking like that as we were moving up the steps to the house. I'd already let Sheila off her lead, she'd spend hours running around their garden, running after rabbits and pheasants, well until she got hungry anyway.

"No more of that, we are Edward and Bella, employer and employee." I was tempted to tap him with my white stick, but that thing was hard so it might actually hurt, and knowing my aim, it probably wasn't the best idea.

"Does that mean you have to call me _master_, I could get used to that?" I'd bet my salary he had a cocky grin on his face. Not for long...

"Could you get used to sleeping in your own bed?"

Silence...

Ha, that shut him up nicely.

We didn't even have to knock on the door; as soon as we reached the final steps I heard the door being flung open as Esme came out to hug me.

"Oh Bella, it's so good to see you, quick get inside it's freezing out here. How come you're so late, it's almost half past six."

"Traffic on the roads, we got held up coming to the house through the village, you know what country roads are like Mom." I blushed at his obvious reference to our little _distraction_ earlier but glad he could at least come up with something.

_Sorry Esme, I just had to ravage your son for a bit on the side of the road, oh and I almost decided not to come because I want him so badly. _

Yeah, somehow I couldn't see that going down too well.

"Oh Edward look at you, sweetie I know you've been at work but couldn't you even brush your hair a bit, and look at this shirt, I didn't raise you to be so messy. I'm glad Bella can't see what a state you are." Her scolding was good natured but I was so glad I didn't have a drink or anything, because I'd have definitely spat it out.

_Actually Edward's usually quite __tidy; I just can't keep my hands off of him. My bad._

It's his fault, he shouldn't have such nice hair, it's almost cruel to tempt me the way it does.

_You keep telling yourself that Bella_.

"Carlisle they're here, turn that TV off and come and see your children. Edward don't just stand there, take Bella's coat and hang it up, I have to check on the sauce." I loved how she called us her children, although that would mean there was some kind of incestuous relationship between Edward and I, no, children in a _familial _sense, not literal. We must have been alone in the foyer because I felt Edward's hands creep around my body starting to undo the buttons on my coat.

"Esme said take my coat, not _take it off._" That didn't deter him, his hands were working very slowly down to the bottom as he placed feather light kisses on my neck, trust him to misbehave at any opportunity.

"Bella, I'm only a guy, you have to explain things clearly to me, or my imagination will just run wild. See now I don't want to stop with the coat, I want to peel _all_ those layers off you." The thought of him doing just that was very, very tempting but the wafting smell of beef bourguignon pulled me out of my lustful reverie.

I must have given him the _look_ because he stopped what he was doing, took my coat which allowed me to walk to the kitchen, only to bump into Carlisle. Thank God he hadn't been there a few seconds earlier.

"Hello BB, how have you been." I pulled my second favourite Cullen into a hug and giggled when he picked me up and twirled me around like a little girl. I knew Charlie was still my Dad but Carlisle filled another part of my life as well, I suppose I saw him more as a mentor, but above all a good friend.

_A friend whose _son_ you're sleeping and living with. _

Yes well not in the biblical sense anyway, yet.

"Good, work's good, Sheila's good, she's out in the garden, everything's good."

"Excellent, you look great, you seemed tired last time we saw you, I assume things are better now?" I could hear Edward helping Esme in the kitchen, and Carlisle was walking us to what I presumed to be his study, because he sat us down on a leather sofa I knew he had there. I knew he'd brought me here because he wanted to ask about Edward.

"Things are going really well, my team are working well together, we had a couple of issues in the beginning but you know that's to be expected."

"And Edward?" Bingo.

"He's doing great, I don't know too much about many of the other projects, you'll have to ask him about that, but he's always around when I need him and he's proved to be really helpful. Honestly Carlisle, as far as I know, he's doing well; you know it's going to take time, but I promise you that you won't be disappointed."

"That's a relief; I know you can always tell me the truth. Sure I can talk to Aro or anyone in HR to see how he's getting on, but I know you'll give it to me straight, I knew I could trust you BB." Shit, it's almost as if he _knows_ there's something I'm not telling him.

Luckily he dropped that and just started talking to me about my work, I could tell he was still interested, all this stuff had taken up a large part of his life, and I knew, in some way, he still missed it, but not the working hours. I accepted his offer of a glass of the wine we'd brought with us; heaven knows I needed a little bit of courage for what I wanted to do to Edward tonight. I didn't usually have a glass before dinner when I went round theirs but if he noticed anything strange, he didn't say anything about it.

"So what were you watching earlier?" I was almost certain I knew what it was, and if I was correct, then Esme's reaction would be funny.

"Ah Bella it's that formula one again, I can't stand it! It drives me crazy. He's forbidden from watching it in the kitchen so I send him to the living room. I hate it, all that loud noise, I can't hear myself think."

"Esme, it's a sport, it's not just noise." He really had no chance of arguing with Esme, but I respected him for at least trying. I shook my head in silent laughter and I could hear Edward beside me doing the same.

"Well you know you watch it in the living room, I was on the phone earlier and I had to ask the lady from Oxfam to hold, because my _husband_ can't watch anything with normal volume." I wasn't going to try and hold it in now, both of us were laughing but I thought it was adorable how they never argued; it was just Esme telling Carlisle why he was wrong and him accepting it. They loved each other more than anything though and that was the main thing, it was so nice to know that even after being married all these years, they were still the same.

_I wonder if Edward and I will be like that._

"So Bella, you know what next month is don't you?" I was in the middle of chewing a piece of beef and I had to force myself to swallow it because I _knew_ what she was talking about and I really didn't want to go there.

"Christmas?"

"Other than Christmas sweetie."

"Boxing Day?"

"No."

"New Years Eve?" I was pushing my luck now and we both knew it, I should have expected this, it was drawing closer and closer and I couldn't believe I hadn't remembered before.

"Silly Bella, the Cullen Annual Benefit. Do you know what you're wearing yet?"

"I'm not going." Stand your ground Bella, stand your ground.

"Honey I already arranged it with Rosalie Hale; she said she had a few things in mind." Carlisle spoke up quickly and I bet he was glad he was on the other side of the table.

Traitor.

"You're meant to be on my side." I mumbled at him, he wasn't playing fair.

"No offense BB, as menacing as you are, I'm more afraid of getting in my _wife's _bad books."

_He has a point._

"I'm still not going."

"Oh Bella come on, the first year wasn't _that_ bad, I honestly don't know why you make such a fuss."

"And Bella, you have to come this year. All the money raised goes towards my community project."

"Esme, the money goes towards one of your community projects _every year._" She was a cheeky minx trying to play that card.

"Wait, I'm missing something. Why is it you don't want to go?" Edward sounded confused but I didn't blame him, he wasn't there the _first year_ I joined CGB, so he hadn't witnessed my embarrassment.

Now it was Carlisle's turn to laugh and I shot him as fierce a glare as I could in my Ray Bans.

"You've got to admit it was a little bit funny." I knew his teasing was good natured but I still didn't want to talk about it, and I definitely didn't want to go.

"Funny isn't exactly how I'd describe it." I was speaking between clenched teeth but I knew I was embarrassed rather than angry.

"Someone please explain this to me." Oh well, here goes nothing.

"The first year I joined CGB, after I completed my degree, a new graduate program was opened up at the company. There were thirty of us in total but only a select few were invited to the benefit, I was one of them. The board thought it would be good for us each to say a few words about our experiences so far after Carlisle had talked about the program at the benefit. There were three of us and I was the last one to talk, what I didn't know was that the guy before me had switched the microphone off. I was nervous enough as it was, so when I went to speak and nobody could hear anything, I tried talking really loudly. Well, if you've seen Bridget Jones you'll know what I mean; Carlisle always compares it to that. Only difference was I was speaking in front of _hundreds_ of people."

"Don't stop there Bella that's not the funniest bit."

"So after I'd been speaking for a couple of minutes, I felt like an idiot because I had to practically shout at everyone so they could hear me, one of the technicians came over to hand me a new microphone. Carlisle comes over to wrap the whole thing up, laughing at me for what happened, I thought I turned the new microphone _off_ and I may have muttered a few expletives."

"And it was still on?" Edward sounded curious but at least he wasn't laughing.

"Yeah, she'd hit the volume instead of the off button, so everyone heard her say 'not fucking funny Daddy C'. I thought it was hilarious, Bella doesn't agree."

"And that's the reason you're not going, wasn't that like three years ago though?" Now I _knew _he'd been laughing, I kicked him under the table and he soon stopped.

"Yes but I still don't want to go, it's a load of bollocks -"

"Bella, language."

"Sorry Esme."

"It's a load of rubbish and I hate having to mingle with all those people."

"But you have to come, that's when Edward officially gets recognised as CEO, Carlisle metaphorically 'hands over the reigns', it wouldn't be the same without you Bella. Edward wouldn't you like Bella to be there?" I couldn't believe she was playing the guilt card with me, she was lethal.

"Of course I would Mom; I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without her." I was ready to kick him again but what he said really meant a lot to me. I had to struggle not to melt on the spot, I think they'd notice something was up if I did. I could feel my resolve weakening and I knew that if we were alone Edward would be pleading with me.

"Let's just say I do go, I just have to mingle and be nice to people right? No talking." I wanted clarification if I was actually going to do this.

"Not exactly..."

"_Carlisle. _Whatare you saying_?_"

"I thought maybe it would be nice if, instead of one of the board members talking about my time at CGB and Edward joining us, well, I wondered maybe, whether, you...would do it. If you want to?" I had to struggle a little bit not to scream at him. What the hell was he thinking? Ok Bella, calm, you didn't want there to be any drama tonight and there doesn't have to be, just stay calm.

"Why me?"

"You're the closest one to both of us at the company, and it will be my last appearance at an official event as CEO, it would mean a lot to me if you would do this. You're the one that works with Edward the most, and I know we'd both prefer a friend of the family up there with us rather than someone like Aro."

I had to think about whether I wanted to do this. Actually I didn't even need to think, I _knew_ I really didn't want to do this, but for Edward it would be different. Standing in front of all those people, talking about the man who is so important to me, was that such a bad thing? I knew if I said no Carlisle wouldn't love me any less or think badly of me, but I didn't know whether Edward would be disappointed, and that was really what I was most concerned about.

"You know this is blackmail right?"

"Bella, just listen -"

"Actually it's worse than that, its _emotional_ blackmail." I kept my face an empty mask, hoping he would feel some sort of guilt for asking me to do this, especially after I'd explicitly explained to Edward _exactly_ why I didn't even want to _go_ to the event.

"Is that a yes?"

"It's a _maybe._"

"Come on BB, we both know maybe means yes, just say it."

"Yes ok I'll do it, but I have conditions. I'm not up on that platform for more than ten minutes, I get to leave before midnight and I reserve the right not to have to speak to anyone I don't like for more than a minute." The leaving before midnight part was probably the most important; one thing worse than pretentious bankers was _drunken _pretentious bankers. I wasn't having _any_ of that.

"Done." Really? That was easy.

"And I have to wear a dress?"

"Yes but Rosalie will sort that out, apparently she's having trouble finalizing which one she likes best but she'll tell you soon."

"Yay I can't wait." Sarcasm was definitely appropriate here.

"It won't be that bad."

"So if you knew earlier that you wanted me to do this, why didn't you call me at work?"

"Because you'd hang up on me and refuse to talk to me."

_Ah, he knows me so well._

"Probably."

Dessert was fantastic, even more so because I told Esme not to let Carlisle have any, _this time _she was on my side. I was standing in the kitchen with Esme talking about her week when she surprised me with a change of topic.

"Edward seems a lot happier recently." Oh shit. Just how intuitive was she?

"Yeah, I guess."

"I just wish he'd settle down, I raised him to be a gentleman but sometimes I know he can be less than so. Carlisle was the same when we first met." If only she knew just how _much_ ungentlemanly behaviour he'd been participating in.

"Really?"

"Oh Bella he was a chauvinistic prick."

"Esme!" I was shocked and amused to hear here talking like that, and because she was so calm. It was pretty funny.

"Honestly, sometimes there's no other way than to just say it, but really, I was undeniably attracted to him but he could be so pig headed sometimes. He was so young and impressionable, it took him a while to really find himself, and then, well, the rest is history. I'm only telling you this because I can imagine that's what Edward was like when you first met him, but he's changed, I don't know what it is, but he's a better man. Thank you for being patient with him. I know it must have been hard at times."

_Yeah, hard not to ravish him._

"I'm just doing my job, but I really do believe in Edward, he's a good person." It was incredibly difficult to stop there and not carry on gushing about him, I wanted to talk to Esme like a daughter would to a mother, like I never had the chance to with _my _mother. I wanted her to help me understand how I was feeling about him, because I knew I needed some guidance in that area.

"I'm glad you think so, and we're very proud of him too, even if Carlisle doesn't tell him as often as he should. You look tired sweetheart; you don't need to worry about getting up in the morning. Carlisle and I are going to a farmers market early, so we'll be back for brunch at around half ten or eleven."

"Ok, sounds good. I'm going to head up now actually, I hope you don't mind." Excellent, more time alone with my man.

"Oh don't be silly, of course I don't, you've had a long week. I forget how tired you must be. Listen if you need anything in the morning, just call Edward and he'll help you. Night sweetheart."

"Night." I'm sure she wouldn't approve of the things I'd ask Edward to help me with. No, she _really _wouldn't.

There was a knock at my door and I sincerely hoped, considering what I was wearing, that it was Edward at the door instead of his parents. I prepared myself to be completely embarrassed as I opened the door but was relieved to feel Edward's arms wrap around my waist and lift me up into the air, closing the door behind him.

"Sweet Jesus what did I do to deserve you." I'd wrapped my legs around his waist and I knew that he approved of my new night wear. Apparently there was a good reason why they called this sort of thing night wear instead of _sleepwear_. It was a dark green baby-doll that came to just above the middle of my thigh, all the edges were black lace and it was really silky, I knew he'd love the feel of it.

"See something you like Mr Cullen?" I giggled and I knew I only had the confidence to say something like that because I was slightly tipsy. Apparently a couple of glasses of wine are quite good for you.

"Oh I like this _a lot_. Where have you been hiding _this_?" His hands were roaming up and down my sides and I could feel us being moved backwards to the bed as I was still wrapped tightly around him.

"Its part of Rosalie's weekend collection she got for me, does it look ok? I mean, tell me if I look ridiculous." My insecurities were starting to show but I didn't want him to be mad, this was the first time I'd done something like this.

"Bella, you can _feel _how hard I am. Love you look amazing; I'd insist you wear this to work if there weren't so many perverts in our building. Now let me show you how much I like this." Before I could stop him we were on the bed together, a tangle of arms and legs as he kissed me passionately and I gave in to the wonderful things he was making me feel. His tongue stroked my bottom lip and I immediately granted him entrance, moaning in pleasure as our lips moved together.

He rolled us over so I was on top, straddling him so I could feel him just _there._ Quickly he sat up and started kissing down my chest on a direct path south to my boobs and I knew if I didn't stop him quickly I'd lose my concentration and forget what I wanted to do.

"Edward...stop." His hand had reached into the baby-doll and was palming my breast, flicking my nipple and causing me to gasp.

"Why love? Does it not feel good?" I was just about to spoke when I felt his mouth cover the other breast and I was in heaven, but I had to tell him to stop.

"Please Edward, don't, please stop." I was breathless but it probably sounded like I was distressed, or even worse, like I genuinely didn't want to do any of this.

"Baby what's wrong?"

"Nothing just lay back down...and, and keep your hands by your sides." Luckily he did as he was told and as soon as I felt his hands on the sheets next to my knees, I leant down and took his mouth with mine but pulled away as soon as his hands starting creeping up my back. I knew if I could concentrate and make this all about him then I could actually do it, obviously practice makes perfect but now for my first time I couldn't afford any distractions.

"Hands Edward." I felt him smile against my lips and carried on with my attack as soon as they resumed their previous position. I made sure to pay equal attention and devotion to both his top and bottom lip, nibbling a little now and then. My hands were in his hair but I moved them down to his shoulders as I started to manoeuvre myself down his body, and what a body he had.

"Oh Bella, that feels good." I smiled at his praise but I wanted more than _good._

The sparse hair tickled my own chest as I placed open mouthed kisses down his neck and along his shoulders, my hands following the path my lips had taken. I reached down a little further and was shocked to hear him gasp as I passed his nipples which seemed to be extremely sensitive. Not knowing whether he'd like it or not I ran my tongue lightly over one of them while I traced the other with my finger, to my delight his hips came up off the bed and he groaned.

"Fuck Bella, that feels -" I moved down further again so I was straddling the tops of his thighs, kissing his hard abdomen and nuzzling the hair past his belly button. I was nervous when I came to the edge of his boxers that he was wearing but I knew what I wanted to do, and I'll be damned if I was going to back down now.

I fingered the material but was interrupted by Edward's hands.

"Where did I tell you to put your hands?"

"Baby you don't have to do anything you don't want to -" I purposely ignored him, because I really, _really _did want to do this.

"Was it not by your sides?"

"Yes love. Sorry." He knew not to argue and I was glad of that, the last thing I needed was to lose my nerve.

He lifted his hips which I was incredibly grateful for as I slid his boxers down his hips and past his knees where he flicked them off. Now he was naked, as in, no clothes, _not a stitch on him_ as Renee would say. I sat for a couple of seconds rethinking my plan and just as Edward was about to say something I reached my hand out to touch him.

Obviously I had no idea what to expect, having never touched another man's…_member_ before.

_Jesus Bella, get over it, it's a dick you're touching, a cock whatever you want to call it._

The first thing that came to mind was how soft the skin was, it was strange how his dick was so _hard_ yet the surface of it was so smooth. Edward hissed through his teeth when I wrapped my hand around the base of his dick and I wondered whether I'd done something wrong already. I was sure he'd tell me if I was doing it wrong or if I was hurting him so I carried on what I was doing.

I never knew how thick it was meant to be but my fingers couldn't quite meet around the base of him. And it was big, and _long_, I didn't know what the average man was, but he had to be on the well endowed side of things. Suddenly it occurred to me, how was that ever going to fit inside me? It was _huge_, I don't think I had enough space to fit the length of him in, and I knew my opening was substantially smaller than the width of him. I dismissed that though, I had a job to do and I wanted to do it right.

I leaned myself upwards to get more comfortable so I was straddling the very tops of his thighs, so to be closer to him. I ran my other hand over his prominent hip bones, tracing small circles with my nails as I brought my other hand up and down on him repetitively. I could feel the slight ridges in it which were presumably veins, when I got to the top I thumbed the flesh there which induced a very _satisfied_ groan. I guess I must have been doing something right. He was thrusting his hips into my hand now and I could hear his breathing quicken.

"Oh fuck Bella don't stop." I leaned down to press a kiss to his chest while I kept my hand on him, up and down, up and down, I was starting to get into a rhythm and actually enjoying myself, I knew he liked what I was doing, the grunts and moans and gasps were turning me on more than anything. I reached under him to cup his balls with the other hand and smiled when I felt his hands fist in the sheets. I could feel the moisture collecting at the top of his dick and rubbed it around the top with my thumb, and then something I had never thought about occurred to me, what did it taste like?

I brought the hand that had been on his dick up to my mouth and flicked my tongue out to lick the pre-cum off of my thumb.

"Oh baby...oh God, keep going, I'm…uh" As soon as I did that I felt him twitch beneath me and his balls start to tighten, now I used both hands to work him, one at the top concentrating on his head and the other rubbing him up and down, his hips were thrusting much more violently now and the sounds he was making were far more erotic.

I kept moving my hand on him as I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Won't you come for me Edward." At that his dick tightened and got even harder if it was possible and I felt his hot cum shoot in several spurts over my hand and his stomach.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck BELLA!" We were both breathless at this point and he seemed dazed if anything, which I guess was a positive reaction. He leaned over to get a tissue from the pack on my bedside table and I started getting nervous because he hadn't said anything yet. Once he was finished I leaned over him and cupped his face with my hands, kissing him hard and pouring all the passion I had for him into that one kiss, hoping he could feel it.

We laid there silently for a couple of minutes and I tried to hide my anxiety by placing kisses over his face, on his warm cheeks, along his stubbly jaw, on his forehead, his nose and finally a quick peck on his lips.

"Edward? Say something…please. What are you thinking?" I stroked his face lightly and smiled when he turned his face to nuzzle my hand, placing a kiss in the centre of my hand.

"That what you just did was incredible, fucking fantastic. I've never come that hard, or fast." He mumbled the last bit and I had to strain to make sure I'd heard him right. Surely that was a good thing though, coming hard and fast, I didn't understand what was wrong.

"But you liked it?"

"I think that's a bit of an understatement love."

"So what's wrong?" I let my whole weight rest on him and settled my face in between his neck and shoulder and he started to stroke my hair.

"Nothing's wrong, you just make me feel like an inexperienced fifteen year old. I can usually last, well hold out, a lot longer than that. I didn't want you to think that I wouldn't be able to _pleasure _you because I was so, well you know, quick." Suddenly I was laughing because the whole thing was so ridiculous, how on earth could he feel inexperienced and inadequate, and how could he even for a second think that he couldn't pleasure me properly?

"Uh, Bella, this isn't meant to be funny."

"No you're right, it's not, but its borderline stupid. Edward I'm sure I don't have to remind you that you're the only man to show me _any _kind of pleasure, you make my fucking head spin with how good you make me feel, and I'm not just talking about when we're intimate. So the idea that you can't pleasure me, yeah, I can't help laughing because it's ludicrous. You've shown me what pleasure is, I just wanted to do the same for you. Before tonight, I worried about not being able to do this with you; I mean I _really _worried, because I have no idea what I'm doing. Baby I'm glad you lost control, you know how good that makes me feel, that I can _do_ that to you."

"You have no idea what you do to me Bella Swan. You're everything to me."

"You're my world Edward, it's all you. You're my life now."

"As you are mine. Thank you by the way, I never did say so." I rolled us to the side so we were facing each other and I wrapped one arm around him and swung my leg over his thigh.

"You're very welcome, night baby."

"Goodnight love." We kissed for a few more minutes before we fell asleep in each others arms. And that was exactly how I woke up the next morning, tangled up in Edward Cullen with his head against my chest. I felt like my life had just started.

I woke up with a start, I was never cold, and not just because Edward insisted on keeping the thermostat constantly high, but because I usually woke up against another body, which was not the case this morning. The sheets next to me were cold as well, which meant Edward hadn't been here for a while, I didn't have a clue as to why he wasn't in bed, we didn't have to be in work until eight today so I was looking forward to a lie in. I found my Blackberry next to me on the bed and presumed that meant that Edward wanted me to call. I pressed his speed-dial and while I was waiting for him to pick up I was worrying about all the things that could be wrong.

"Edward Cullen."

"Edward where are you? What's wrong?" I held the phone close to my ear thinking that would get him to respond quicker.

"I'm at the office. I didn't want to wake you but Bella, something's happened, you need to come in." His voice was quiet but I knew he would be talking to me in his office, so no-one could hear him.

"Right now?"

"I think that would be best."

"Dammit Edward what's wrong?" Fuck what if someone had had an accident, or they were ill; was it one of the team? Was it Angela? All sorts of awful situations were running through my head and I was starting to panic.

"No-one's hurt; I know that's what you're thinking. I can't talk about it over the phone, just come in as soon as possible."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes." I cancelled the call and pulled on the first shirt and trousers I could find, not really caring what I looked like at all. I quickly sprayed on some deodorant, foregoing a shower as I called Jake to come and pick me up and take me to work. Sheila must have sensed my lack of patience this morning because she was in the car as soon as Jake opened the door for her. I'm sure we broke a few speeding laws but this morning I really couldn't care less.

I walked as fast as I could to Edward's office which Sheila was more than happy to do, he'd taken to keeping treats in there for her so any mention of him and she was away.

"Would somebody like to explain to me what's going on?" I could hear the rest of the team talking in hushed voices so I knew I was the last to arrive.

"It's the bid for the Quileute group." That really wasn't what I wanted to hear, not after the number of long hours I'd put into this thing.

"What about it? We're the only competitor, this should be in the bag, I met with Mr Uley myself last week and we agreed our terms. That's what the whole focus of Phase 1 was; it'll all be sealed before Christmas."

"We just received a call from their legal team informing us that Mr Uley is negotiating with another competitor, he re-opened the bid."

"Who the _fuck_ is it?" My fists were clenched and I felt like I could scream.

"It's JIG Bella, James Jameson is heading an acquisition team for the Quileute group, and they're our competitors." I was really glad I didn't have anything close to me that I could throw, because I knew I'd have smashed it by now.

I was seeing red. World War Three could have broken out and I wouldn't have noticed a thing. All I could think about was how much I hated that no good, son of a bitch wanker James Jameson, and how I was going to trample on him if it was the last thing I did.

**Is it too much to ask to help me get to 420 reviews? Your thoughts are important**** to me and I'm always willing to discuss things about the story with you guys. I just want to know what you think.**

**Oh and the update is coming along, but I don't have an ETA for it yet, but it will be chunky, lots and lots of Edward-y goodness. Just for you guys, because I love you. **

**Thank you and have a wonderful weekend, each and every one of you.**

**Aurora**


	22. One Way or Another

**Hello lovely readers! I would like to thank each and every one of you for reviewing, even though we didn't **_**quite**_** get to 420 I was so happy from the response I **_**did**_** get. I wanted to say a quick thank you to brittany86 for her review, I didn't respond because I couldn't send you a PM, so I thought I'd say thanks on here.**

**I'm aiming for an average of 20 reviews per chapter which means I'm asking for 440 reviews before I next update. Please **** Pretty please **** God knows what kind of juicy lemon I'll be inspired to write if that happens…just saying.**

**Oh and in this chapter, a stressed Bella = bad mouthed Bella.**

**Enjoy! Beware, I haven't edited (no time) and I've never had a beta so please excuse little mistakes.**

_**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright November 2010.**_

_Last time…_

"_It's JIG Bella, James Jameson is heading an acquisition team for the Quileute group, and they're our competitors." I was really glad I didn't have anything close to me that I could throw, because I knew I'd have smashed it by now. _

_I was seeing red. World War Three could have broken out and I wouldn't have noticed a thing. All I could think about was how much I hated that no good, son of a bitch wanker James Jameson, and how I was going to trample on him if it was the last thing I did. _

**Chapter 22 ****– One Way or Another**

"Don't even think about coming in here unless it's with some fucking good news." I heard someone rap their knuckles on the door but didn't stop what I was doing as I took a long drink from the mug of coffee I'd been waiting to cool down but winced slightly as it burned the back of my throat. My eyes had been starting to droop and my yawns were becoming that much more frequent, but I knew that in an hour I'd be as right as fucking rain.

I didn't bother to ask who'd just walked in to my office, unless it was Edward Cullen coming to present me with James Jameson's balls on a silver platter, I really didn't give a fuck.

"Miss Swan, um, everyone's ready in the conference room, we need to start on the weekly review, since you've got an appointment tomorrow afternoon." He sounded rushed off his feet and I knew exactly how he felt.

"No time Newton, record it for me, I'll listen to it tomorrow morning and tell you what needs to be done." I really didn't have time for that now, but the good thing was that shit couldn't really get much worse than it was right now so it wasn't as if I was missing out by not actually _being _at the meeting.

"But -"

"No buts and Newton, we'll need everyone in this weekend, and I mean _everyone_. We'll work nine to five on Saturday and then depending where we get to, we might not have to come in Sunday, just depends how smoothly this shit goes down." I rubbed my temples thinking about how realistic it would be to be able to draw up a whole new plan by the end of this weekend. It would be touch and go for sure.

"Right, ok, yeah."

"Oh and Newton? If anyone says no, tell them to shut the fuck up and get on with it." I said this with just a hint of a smile, because Mike knew from what I'd just said that there'd be one hell of a shit storm if someone decided they _couldn't_ make it in this weekend.

"Yes boss. Is there anything else Bella?"

"No, you're good. Thanks, you did well this week." I tried not to make a habit of inflating any of their egos too much but I put them under serious pressure this week and they'd worked fucking hard, sometimes just a couple of words went a long way, especially from a bitch of a boss like me.

"Thanks Bella" He sounded genuine at least and I was thankful for that, there was now way I'd be able to take sarcasm from any of them, especially at this late in the day.

Mike Newton had certainly been a surprise, for a start he was a hard worker, and anyone who truly possessed that quality was in my good books. He was also passionate about the work we were doing here, although Edward argued that this was just a result of his being a 'perv', I tended to disagree. I'd immediately written him off as a golden boy who'd had his way paid for him at university and someone who wasn't really all that interested, I was glad, this time, to have been proved wrong.

I pulled my mane of hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ears and into the back of my shirt, because I honestly couldn't be bothered to look for a hair tie, and I knew I'd be here for a while. Caius had agreed we sit down and run through every inch of the legal documentation regarding the temporary agreement I'd made with Mr Uley. Why him and his panel of lawyer couldn't resolve this without me I had no idea, but I appreciated that he thought I would be able to have some input on this, even if he did still creep me out a bit.

Three hours later and I was truly exhausted, we'd made good progress which was at least positive, I felt much better prepared for my meeting with Mr Uley tomorrow morning and then with James wanker Jameson in the afternoon. I thought it was so bloody convenient that neither of them could meet with me until Friday, like they knew that's when I'd be about ready to collapse after this week.

Honestly, the only things I needed right now were Edward and a good night's sleep, my appetite had left me completely. I didn't really know what the time was but when I asked Caius what it was a while back he told me it was nine o'clock. Edward would be pissed, it was Thursday and this week I hadn't managed to make it home before nine, it wasn't that he was pissed at _me_, I just think he hated seeing me so tired all the time, up at four and in bed by eleven, ten if I was lucky, I could tell he was worried about me.

It wasn't like we could spend the time together, he would have nothing to do if he stayed late with me and people would be incredibly suspicious as to what he was actually doing there. I felt bad for neglecting him, and because he tried to never show how much my being at work without him bothered him, I felt all the worse. More than that though, I missed him. I felt relieved in the knowledge that he hadn't just been sitting at home waiting for me to call him to come and pick me up which was something he insisted on doing every night. He told me that while he was waiting for me during the week he'd enlisted Emmett to help him move stuff from his apartment to mine.

Speaking of Emmett, I was supposed to be meeting him this weekend but I had to cancel when I realized that realistically, I just wouldn't have the time, not if I actually wanted to spend some time with Edward as well. In fact, the only thing that had been getting me through this hellish week was the knowledge that I'd get to spend a good portion of Sunday with him, whether that meant us staying in bed the whole day or him reading me the phone book, I really couldn't care less, just so long as we were together.

I called Edward on the way to my office to wake up Sheila, I'd left her there while I was with Caius, it's not as if I had to leave my chair to go anywhere, I had the aching back to prove it.

"Hey, it's me; we're all finished up for the day." I heard his harsh exhale of breath and I knew he wasn't happy.

"Bella it's ten o'clock." Shit it was later than I thought, no wonder he's pissed.

"I know it's late and I'm really, really sorry. I can get a taxi home if you want." I knew he wouldn't be very welcoming of my suggestion but I had to at least try, I didn't want him thinking I just expected him to be able to drop everything to come and get me.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm at the garage now, I'll be there in ten minutes." I rolled my eyes at his response to me getting a taxi. Yes because the idea of not being chauffeured around all the time was completely ridiculous, we would have to use taxis and use public transport like normal people, could you imagine it?

Sure enough, by the time I'd dragged a sleepy Sheila out of her makeshift bed in my office, Edward was outside waiting for me. Demetri, who had just recently started doing the night shift for building security led me to the car and put my bags and Sheila in the back, I thanked him and almost dreaded talking to Edward. He really hadn't sounded happy on the phone, and I couldn't think of a conversation we'd had where he hadn't said goodbye or some kind of endearment along with it, this was definitely new, and I couldn't say I liked it all that much.

We sat in silence for the first five minutes of the journey and I couldn't stand the lack of noise.

"Thank you for coming to pick me up." My voice was quiet and I knew it was because I was anxious as to how he would respond, or why he was being so damn quiet in the first place.

"Your welcome." His voice was flat, completely unfamiliar and great, still no 'baby', or 'love', or 'sweetheart', he must be really upset about this.

"I'm sorry Edward. Please don't be mad at me." I placed my hand in between and actually wasn't sure whether he'd take it or not. As pathetic as it sounds, I was just about ready to cry when I felt his fingers lace with mine. The potential tears were a mixture of tiredness and lack of Edward.

"I'm not mad." His voice sounded dejected and all I wanted to do was hold him to me to make it ok.

"Yes you are."

"I'm not mad at _you_ baby I've just missed you this week." A huge wave of relief came over me and I felt stupid for not thinking that Edward might just not like me working late, hell, _I_ didn't like me working late.

We pulled to a stop at the garage underneath the apartment building as Edward got out of the car and came around to my side to open the door for me. Always the gentleman…

"I missed you too. I know I haven't been home that much but I _promise _it won't be like this for much longer, we just need this bid, and it'll be over by the weekend." I was leaning against the car now and his arms came around me, holding me to him tightly. His head was resting in the nape of my neck and he was running his lips over my pulse point, giving me butterflies.

"It's been really hard coming home without you. I get used to leaving with you and coming home together. I've barely seen you this week." My hands moved from his hips to under his jacket, rubbing up and down his back.

"Well if it's any consolation, I haven't seen you _at all_." He didn't sound like he appreciated my joke as I laughed to myself. Well, _I_ thought it was funny.

Now his lips were at my ear and he whispered softly to me. "I feel like I just got you, and now someone's trying to take you away from me. I don't want to let you go, ever." His lips were tracing the shell of my ear and making me shiver, but not from the cold. His voice was full of meaning, and I knew that now we weren't just talking about my time away this week.

"Then don't." As soon as I spoke his lips crashed down to mine with more fervour than ever before, this kiss was full of promise, passion and something much stronger. Without breaking the kiss, his hands wrapped around my waist and lifted me up into the air, twirling me round making me dizzy for him, as always. When we both ran out of air he set me down and leaned his forehead against mine, both of us were breathing heavily and I smiled knowing we were ok. As long as I had _this_ with Edward, I knew I would be ok, _this_ was all that mattered.

I knew I needed to put a name to _this_ but I didn't want to think about that now, what I wanted to do was let my wonderful boyfriend take me to bed and whisper words of support and encouragement to me for tomorrow, and that's exactly what he did.

"Baby you'll be fine. I promise. You look great alright; just stay calm, you'll feel so much better after this is all over." I was sitting on the edge of m-, no _our_ bed as Edward sat behind me, his legs hanging either side of my hips, brushing my hair. It was something Renee used to do up until she died and it was doing a great job of calming me down. But Edward punctuating his words with kisses to my neck? That wasn't _calming_ whatsoever.

"I can do this." I'd been repeating the same thing in my head for the past half hour and I felt happy knowing that I was able to say it with conviction because it was finally sinking in.

"Yes you can. I can't wait for you to come home and tell me how you kicked his ass."

"Say that again."

"What? That I can't wait for -"

"No, _ass._ You could make it big in audio books with that voice of yours." And I wasn't exaggerating either, if he recorded nursery rhymes I bet all the mummies and even some of the _daddies_ would buy Edward's books, if you know what I mean.

_Your perversity continues to astound me Swan._

Yeah well, get used to it.

"Silly, beautiful girl." I rested my head back against his shoulder and hummed in contentment.

"_Your _silly beautiful girl." I punctuated the 'your' with a kiss to his neck as I pulled away to get myself ready.

"Damn straight, now get your perfect _ass _off the bed and into the car to get our client back." He left me with one hell of a kiss as I struggled to get into my death trap shoes without falling over.

"Yes Sir Mr Cullen." I waved salute as I walked out the door and heard him chuckling behind me.

"Looking good Bells." Jake was right on time this morning and much happier than usual. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I didn't ask him to pick me up at ridiculous o'clock this morning because it had just gone eight thirty. My meeting with Mr Uley was at nine o'clock.

"Thanks, Rose calls it a power suit. Obviously I have no idea what she's talking about but if it intimidates the fuckers then I'm all for it." I'd spoken with Rosalie earlier on in the week and when she heard about my 'double bollocking', her terminology not mine, she insisted she had the perfect thing for me to wear. In my mind all it consisted of was a pair of trousers that hugged my bum more than I would normally prefer, then a fitted shirt and a cropped matching blazer. But who am I to argue with the fashionista supermodel whirlwind that is Rosalie Hale.

"If you're going for intimidation, then I think you've already got that base covered without the suit." His remark confused me and I must have given him a questioning look as he soon explained his thinking.

"Jake you do know I can actually be nice to people, I'm not _really_ a bitch."

"Bella I'm not talking about you."

"Sorry, I've had half the amount of recommended sleep this week; you're going to need to explain this to me." Clearly I was missing something really very obvious and I really had no idea.

"You do know that Sam Uley is terrified of dogs right?" He was laughing and I could tell he had a smile on his face as he spoke.

"What?" I felt like I'd won the lottery when I hadn't even bought a ticket.

"Yeah, petrified. One of the guys used to drive for him and he'd turn away and wince every time he saw a dog on a path."

"Are you shitting me?" Friday mornings, on average, just weren't this good, and fuck if I was ever this lucky.

"I shit you not Bells, but you walk in there with your fluffy bulldozer and Uley will shit a brick, proverbially I hope."

"This is fantastic." Understatement of the year, this would give me the much needed edge that I clearly hadn't had over the phone. For a second though, I felt a little guilty over using what was clearly his phobia against him. Then I remembered how tired I'd felt all week because of his weakness in falling through on our agreement, of all the time I'd missed out on with Edward because of his stupidity, and all the time and energy of the people at work which had been wasted, because of him. Yeah, I really wasn't feeling so guilty now.

"So Jake, do you know about any phobias of Mr Jameson." I was pushing my luck here and I knew it, but you can't blame a girl for trying.

"No, 'fraid not, you'll just have to not take any of his shit. Don't you worry; let's get Uley out the way with and then you can take down Jameson." His tone was light and full of laughter and I knew he was looking forward to helping me with this. Good, it sounded like he was almost, _almost_ as game as I was.

"Excellent." Buckle up Uley; it's going to be a bumpy ride.

"Would you like some tea or coffee Mr Uley? I'm sure that can be arranged." To say the atmosphere in the room was tense would be a fucking understatement. I could practically feel the waves of discomfort coming off of him, and I wasn't exactly empathic.

"Uh, no, no I'm f-, I-m fine, thank you." I could just imagine him squirming in his seat, if he thought even for a second that I was walking out of this room without closing a deal then he had another thing coming.

"Good. I really must apologise for Sheila, I just had to bring her along, and she gets really very uncomfortable when I'm not around. I think she's just protective you know?" I let out a small chuckle and could have sworn I could hear Sam Uley's foot bouncing up and down on the floor. Good, don't want him too comfortable.

"Mmmhmm." Now he was letting his nervous feelings show but I knew I had to be as nice as pie and _ignorant_ about it.

"God how silly of me, you're not allergic to dogs are you Mr Uley? That never even crossed my mind."

_Swan you're _too_ good at this._

"N-no, no I'm not allergic."

"Fantastic. Now that's out the way, perhaps we should start talking about the real reason we're both here hmm?" There was only so much playing nice I could do with this man before I started feeling ill.

"Uh yeah, s-sure."

"I'm sure you understand my reason for arranging a meeting Mr Uley, imagine my surprise when I come into work Monday morning and hear that you want to _dissolve_ our agreement overnight," I pause to snap my fingers in the air which I'm sure made him jump, "just like that."

I interrupt him as he starts to respond, "An agreement that has taken weeks for me and my team to draw out, what with trying to keep both our companies best interests at heart and make as smooth a transition as possible."

"I understand M-Miss Swan." Oh fuck no; there was no _way_ I was going to start taking bullshit from _this_ one. In fact, what he was saying was so ridiculous, I couldn't help but start laughing.

"Is something wrong Miss?"

"Well, only that I find it _fucking_ hilarious that you think you can understand the sheer volume of _shit_ you've caused for us."

"That was unintent-"

"Oh, so you didn't mean to try and end the agreement, it just happened, and you had nothing to do with it. _Really_, I find that hard to believe."

"If you'd just let me explain."

"Oh please do, I've been waiting _all week_ to hear this from you."

"I received a visit, at the uh, at the, the weekend, from Mr Jameson. He wanted to, _discuss_, wait what is she doing?" I'd given the tiniest of tugs on Sheila's lead making her resituate herself, she'd obviously gotten up from lying down and I smiled when she came to sit right in front of me, between my knees. I had no doubt she could sense how nervous he was and felt a small smile at the corner of my mouth but she was so crafty, my clever girl.

"Oh, she's probably just a bit fidgety, I completely forgot about her breakfast this morning what with so much going on, she can get a little bit irritable when she's hungry. But please, do carry on; you were saying Mr Jameson came to visit you." It was a low blow and I knew it, like Sheila would ever let me leave in the morning if I hadn't fed her first, but _he_ didn't have to know that. There was a heavy silence in the air for a few minutes after I'd spoken but I knew I had to wait him out, he needed to slowly get the message that if he wanted to mess with me and my project, then Sheila wasn't what he should be most afraid of.

"Yes, well he-he came to see me, and he made me an offer."

"What kind of offer Mr Uley?"

"I think maybe my lawyers should be present, I don't kn -" Pulling out the 'lawyers' card was such a fucking amateur move, one that I really didn't think I'd hear from the CEO of a company, even if it was a small one. I wasn't the bloody police.

"Mr Uley, I asked you a question, and now you're going to answer it." Stay firm Bella.

"Are you threatening me?" He sounded incredulous and I hard to try hard to hold back a laugh, clearly he needed reminding who was running this thing.

"No, I'm _telling_ you, to tell me what offer Mr Jameson has made you that would make you want to dissolve something that had been previously arranged between us. In fact, it's in our agreement for you to discuss with myself or Mr Cullen any details about the contract that you would wish to change."

"Yes well-"

"So in your haste to get more money for your company than it is actually worth, you have _violated_ several terms of the agreement between Cullen Global Banking and your own company. Do you understand _that?_"

"Yes."

"So why, Mr Uley, when you are of seemingly sound mind and in complete understanding of the situation, would you even think to consider accepting Mr Jameson's offer, of which you have yet to give me the details of?"

Silence…

"Mr Uley?" I was starting to get impatient with him when I heard him mutter something.

"I'm sorry could you repeat that?"

"He offered me co-ownership of the company." For fuck's sake, if this whole thing was just about his pride then I was out of here.

"That's it?"

"No, he also made it clear that around half of my original workforce would be able to keep their jobs if we made an agreement." And right there, as soon as he said 'over fifty percent', that's where I figured it out. I was so close before but now it all made fucking sense, and it was so typically JJ that I wanted to slap myself for not thinking of it sooner.

"_Around half_? I admit that's an impressive number sure, but it's not very accurate is it?" I was laughing to myself as I spoke, it was all so _simple._

"No but, fifty percent is fifty percent, I want to make sure the people that work for me are well provided for."

"Of course you do, what kind of man would you be if you didn't? The point I'm making here, Mr Uley, is that someone who is apparently _so_ interested in your company would surely be able to come up with some more accurate figures don't you think? But I'm sure that was all down on paper wasn't it, I assume he's come up with some kind of agreement, like the one you _had_ with CGB."

"I guess, but he said we'd be able to work out the details one I'd decided whether or not I wanted to work with him. He gave me until the end of the week." I was right, fucking amateur.

"But don't you think that's a little…_unprofessional_? We at CGB provided you with data plans for the next five years in various sectors of your company, a _written_ assurance, that thirty one percent of your workforce would be kept on with us and a comprehensive plan of the breakdown of the company within its various sectors and how we would accommodate you. All this and all you received from Mr Jameson was his word on a Sunday afternoon in your office."

"Yes." As soon as I heard that James Jameson was in the bid for the Quileute group I knew that he didn't give a shit about the company, the only thing he wanted was payback. A way to get back at Carlisle Cullen for offering me a better opportunity than staying at JIG for the next five years, working to increase their profits which had been, before my arrival, not looking too good.

"So you thought that you'd hit the jackpot when Jameson wanted to give you the ideal take over. Did you ever think about what his real motives might be behind this?" I was surprised he could really be this naïve, but considering the fact that his company was in such bad shape as it was, I shouldn't be _that_ surprised. I didn't allow him time to answer me as I carried on, hoping he'd see where I was going with this.

"Did you know I used to work for JIG?"

"Yeah, you helped them re-design their trading options programme; I saw it in the paper, you did a great job."

"Yes, I did. James wanted me to stay on after that, to become a permanent member of staff, but that's when I moved to CGB, Carlisle Cullen asked me to work on this project, among other things. So you see plans for the Quileute group have been in the pipeline for quite some time. Tell me, have JIG, before last week that is, ever shown any interest in your company?"

"No."

"So doesn't it seem a little…_odd_ to you that out of the blue, you would get a call from the CEO of JIG to work on an agreement for them to help your company? Because, Mr Uley, from a professional point of view, his offer doesn't sound very, shall we say, _legitimate._"

"What do you mean?" Did I _really _have to spell this out? Jesus.

"I think that James Jameson is only interested in being involved with your company to sully my name and put a dent in CGB's reputation. I think he has absolutely no intention of honouring the promises he made to you and I know he doesn't give a shit about the employees of the Quileute Group that will without a doubt, lose their jobs once you sign a contract with him." He was silent again and this time I was happy to wait him out. By this point he was either going to be an arrogant arse and make my life ten times harder, or feel like a complete fucking idiot.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I realised it was the latter.

"I've m-made a huge mistake haven't I?" His voice was quiet and small and I was glad he'd realised what he'd done.

"I'd say its magnitude is pretty fucking enormous yes." The next hour and a half I spent with Uley and Caius going over the outline for a slightly amended agreement, which was signed as an official contract. I could feel Caius practically bouncing up and down in his seat next to me, it was either from the amount of caffeine he needed to keep awake or his excitement at finally getting this part over with. Either way he was near to bouncing off the bloody walls.

"So you'll call Mr Jameson tomorrow morning?"

"No, I don't want to wait that long, I'll call him at midday and this will finally be over with." Oh Uley, had a _stressful_ week have you? Motherfucker. One good thing was that James would have his bad news delivered to him just before we were arranged to meet for lunch. I bet that wouldn't taste good.

"Good. I'm glad we were able to sort this out."

"Yes Miss Swan, and I can't tell you how sorry, how embar-" I reached out to shake his hand but interrupted him by pulling him slightly toward me so my mouth was near his ear.

"Save it. But if you give me or my team any more of the shit like you pulled last week, I will lock you in a room with a ring of sausages around your neck, and my dog. Are we clear?" He froze and I heard him whimper and step back but I held onto his hand firmly.

"Are we clear Mr Uley?" I kept my voice flat and talked slowly so I made sure he understood me.

"Y-yes, you, y-, you have my word Miss Swan."

"No, I have your signature, that's worth so much more. I can't say it's been a pleasure doing business with you but you have a good day now. If you have problems or questions outside of the scheduled meetings please feel free to call either myself or Caius, we'll be more than happy to _clarify_ anything for you." I let go of his hand and didn't wait for him to say anything, hopefully he'd have nightmares about this shit for weeks and wouldn't ever think of pulling a stunt like that ever again. I shook hands with Caius on my way out and was pleased to hear that he'd already called Jake to come and pick me up.

"I'm guessing from the shit eating grin on your face it went well." Jake met me as soon as I walked out of the conference centre and I was glad to be leaving. Had they never herd of heating?

"It went well, and thanks for the tip about Sheila, that gave me an advantage."

"No worries Bells, I just wished I could have taped it. I'd have paid money for that shit."

"Yeah well, maybe you can listen through the door this afternoon; shit with Jameson will be much more interesting. I mean, I don't like the thought of hating someone but I really don't think I'd give a shit if he dropped dead." I felt bad for thinking it and even worse for saying it but it was the truth.

"Bells, you left your blackberry here when you left, I didn't want to disturb you so I just figured I'd give it to you when you came out."

"Thanks Jake." I couldn't believe I'd been so careless as to leave it in the car but I was lucky I hadn't needed it while I was gone, that would have been _really_ stupid.

"Yeah, you've got like ten missed calls from some Edward guy."

"Don't be fucking disrespectful." I couldn't speak with as serious a tone as I wanted because I was happy that Edward had called me, to presumably see how thing went.

"Sorry, I guess I should watch my mouth, don't want to lose my job." His voice was light but with just a hint of sarcasm that I really didn't like the sound of.

"I don't know why you still don't like him, and I'm not interested in hearing your reasons, but lay off. I mean it Jake, you're not going to get sacked unless you actually do something wrong, I promise, he's not an idiot."

"Sure sure."

"I mean it Jake, a little more respect from you wouldn't hurt. You're good at what you do, don't let yourself down." I turned to face him now and I was glad when we slowed to a stop, signalling that we were at CGB.

"I'm sorry Bells." I reached my hand in the back of the car and smiled when I felt Sheila's head nuzzling against it.

"That's ok."

Fucker was late, ten minutes _late_ and he was just adding fuel to my fire. Not a good thing to be doing if you're James Jameson. It was a shame that I could really enjoy the relief I should have been feeling at having this deal with Uley in the bag, but I _needed_ to get this shit with James over with.

We'd agreed to meet in one of _our_ conference rooms rather than going to a restaurant for lunch or something. And Edward had made it really very clear that he wanted me in the same building as him with a room that would have security cameras. I honestly wouldn't put it past him to take the afternoon off and sit and watch the whole thing live with security.

I sat up a little straighter as I heard the door open and footsteps come inside.

"I must say Miss Swan, you look _striking._" I scoffed at his attempt at a compliment, because really, I would take great satisfaction in hitting him.

"Close the door."

"Really Bella if you're so _desperate_ for us to have some uninterrupted time together you should have said." I snorted in response; he'd obviously gotten even more delusional since I'd left.

"James the only thing, and I _mean the only thing_ I want from you is an explanation for that little shit stunt you tried to pull this week."

"Are you talking about having a little competition over the Quileute group? Surely you didn't think you were the only ones able to pull something like that off."

"Competition? Do be serious, JIG could never present such a threat, you haven't got what it takes. And for the record, I _have _pulled it off. I'm surprised you haven't heard, or maybe you will once we're through here, still, that doesn't change anything."

"You don't know what the _fuck _you're talking about." He was speaking through clenched teeth and I smiled in victory.

"Oh I think I do, I had a lovely nine o'clock this morning with Mr Uley, and he was really very apologetic for even considering your piss poor offer and signed with us."

"He _what?"_

"Oh, you really didn't know did you? Although I think I like the idea of you hearing it from me."

"You're wrong." He was seething now and I was going to push him until he'd reached his limit, fucker needed to learn not to mess with Bella Swan.

"No _JJ_, I'm fucking right, as per usual. He. Signed. A. Contract. With. Us."

"You fucking bitch. You think you're so good at what you do, but I bet you've been whoring yourself around to get ahead haven't you. Is that it? Does Carlisle Cullen like little blind girls?"

"You shut the fuck up about Carlisle Cullen." I felt animalistic in the need to defend my family and those I loved and I wasn't taking this.

"Or is it little Edward that you're working so _hard_ for? Are you banging both of them?" I had to resist the urge to fly blindly across the room and beat him to a pulp, but that really wouldn't do us any good.

"You know James, I may be blind but I can see right through you. You're a sack of shit who resents me for leaving, that's it isn't it? That's the reason for all of this; you can't help but accuse me of _fucking_ my CEO because I'd never touch you in a million years."

"You know fiery suits you, and that dirty, pretty little mouth, I could work with that." I was disgusted by what he'd said and had to resist the urge to gag, but I figured he'd get some sort of sick satisfaction out of that so I knew I couldn't.

"Jameson, the only part of me that you have ever, or will ever, have the chance to work with, are my skills as a project manager. And I can safely say that, after spending more than enough time at JIG, I won't be working there again.

"And what makes you think I'd ever want to hire a whore like you again?"

"Because I garnered your company more success in six months than you'd had in six years as CEO, that's really fucking embarrassing. How is the project going, because if you arseholes had followed my original plan, then you'd be set for the rest of the year, but something tells me your oversized ego got in the way of that?"

"None of your fucking business."

"Which translates as 'we fucked up and now we have a trading program we don't know what to do with'."

"Is it impossible for you to keep your fucking mouth shut? You act all high and mighty and all you are is one of Cullen's favourites who got lucky. You won't last long in this game."

"Well _JJ_, seeing as I'm such an amateur, how did I manage to overhaul you're little effort at taking away what I'd earned? That's another embarrassment, shit it must really _suck_ to be you right now." I shook as I heard him get up from his chair and come towards me, I could hear his footsteps getting closer and closer and for a second a felt a little bit scared, at the end of the day I was only one woman and he could overpower me easily.

I felt his arms either side of my chair and I shuddered when I felt his breath on my face.

"Not so big are you now, you little _bitch."_

"Your attempts at intimidation are pathetic; if you so much as raise a hand to me I'll have security here in no time." He leaned closer to me and my hands were gripping the sides of my chair tightly which he quickly covered, his sweaty big hands covering mine felt disgusting, he had me trapped and I was starting to feel claustrophobic.

"What are you doing?"

"What I should have done while you still worked for me."

"Get the fuck out of my face Jameson."

"Actually, I think I'm fine right _here_." His mouth was close to my ear now and I knew I'd run out of patience for this shit. I shuddered as I heard him laugh lowly in my ear as he ran a finger down the side of my face, without thinking I lifted my right foot up and slammed my stiletto heel as hard as I could down into his shoe. I felt rather than heard him buckle over and immediately brought my knee up to his groin, causing him to emit a sound between a groan and a shout and I was impressed I'd been able to do that.

Pulling myself out of my mental congratulations I reached for my phone and pressed the speed dial for Felix, who'd insisted he'd be down the hall if I needed anything. I pressed the phone to my ear hurriedly and couldn't formulate my words quickly enough, all he would've been able to hear was my heavy frantic breathing, I didn't realise how freaked out I obviously was. I jumped when I heard feet running down the hall and a door burst open. I was glad Edward obviously hadn't been watching, God knows how he would reacted after seeing this, I wouldn't be surprised if he put James in a coma, I really wouldn't.

So when I heard heavy footsteps enter the room followed by a think polish accent, I knew it was Felix, not Edward.

"He is leaving you now yes Miss Swan?"

"Yeah he's good to go, can you escort him out please Felix? Oh and if you accidently drop him in the Thames with lead weights attached to him, that's fine too." I got up making sure I had my blackberry in my pocket again and frowned when I hadn't heard him reply.

"That was a joke Felix, don't drown him." I could hear him pulling James about who was struggling futilely with 'fuck you's' and such. Not a good idea with Felix.

"No this is ok; we can arrange this for you. Me and Demetri, we do, no problem."

"No, Felix no, I was _joking_, just escort him out, that's murder over here ok." Oh shit the last thing I need is a murder charge, although the idea of Jameson disappearing altogether was quite nice.

"Well yes ok then. But if you are wanting to change your mind…" It was as if he read my mind.

"I'll let you know."

"Don't think this is the last of me you'll hear _Bella_."

"Really? That's a shame I was getting excited about never having to deal with a sack of shit like you again."

"You'll see, I'll make you regret underestimating me."

"I'm sure you'll try Jameson but success won't be the result. Thanks Felix, he can go now."

"Yes Miss Swan."

I didn't tell Edward about everything that had happened with James, I _edited_, because I didn't want to have to think about it anymore than I already had today. I'd decided, much to Edward's chagrin, to celebrate finally getting the deal signed tomorrow after work, seeing as we both still had to go in tomorrow to make various adjustments. I sighed as I lay in bed, Edward's head on my chest as usual as I stroked my hand lightly through his hair, knowing he wouldn't wake up, Edward slept heavily or not at all.

As my hand came around to his forehead and I felt his face shift against me, his stubble tickling my chest, I realised something very important. It was so monumentally obvious that I wanted to kick myself for not realising it sooner, or not being able to put a _name to it_ sooner. The familiar tightening of my chest whenever I though about Edward soothed but just the thought of him made me come alive. I was so incredibly lucky to have this wonderful man in my life, and yesterday when he said he didn't want to let me go, I knew I never wanted him to. I reached down and placed a kiss on the top of his head and smiled to myself.

_I'm in love with__ you Edward Cullen._

**Finally, I hear you say, she took her sweet time. **

**So what did you think? I know there wasn't a lot of ExB in this but we can't have fluff ALL the time, sorry. **

**If I get 440 then I'll update in a week, or maybe sooner, the chapter with Emmett is coming up soon and I am SO looking forward to it, he's one of my favourites, easily. **

**So if you want more lemons and fluff and a quicker Emmett chapter, well, you know what to do…**

**Until then have a Happy Weekend readers and big hugs to all of you. **

**Aurora**


	23. Friends and Foes

**Oh readers I was blown AWAY! There was serious jaw dropping from me as you gave me 20 reviews in 12 hours, that's insane! Thank you thank you thank you all so much. Big smiles from me, and I mean BIG. And now Sight is on 418 Favourites and 497 story alerts which is just wonderful.**

**I'd also like to say a big thanks to the readers who have added me to communities, it puts the story out there for more people to read and I am ever so grateful, I really am. Also thank you to Mz-Star for her review, I couldn't PM you so it goes on here **

**So because you're all so generous with reviews and because when it snows in the UK, public transport shuts down (in London anyway), you have this one two days early.**

**Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright December 2010.**

_Last time…_

_I was so incredibly lucky to have this wonderful man in my life, and yesterday when he said he didn't want to let me go, I knew I never wanted him to. I reached down and placed a kiss on the top of his head and smiled to myself. _

_I'm in love with you Edward Cullen._

**Chapter 23 – Friends and Foes**

I woke up suddenly from what was probably the best sleep I'd had all week. But there was something different, it took me a few moments to realise that one, I was lying on top of Edward with my head against his chest, when it was usually the other way around. Secondly, I was naked, and not, flannel shirt undone and shorts resting a little too low on my hips naked, I wasn't wearing _anything_. I _never _slept naked, well apparently now I did.

I rolled my head from side to side trying to work out the kinks in my neck when I realised something else. I wasn't the only one _au natural_, and there was a certain part of him that was very much more awake than the rest, and it was pressed against the bottom of my stomach, very, _very_ close to _there_.

Shifting slightly I brought my left hand up and started to stroke the sparse hair on his chest, it was slightly coarse but not wiry and I don't think I'd ever appreciated that before. When I trailed my fingers across his chest and around his nipple two things happened simultaneously, I heard Edward let out a small, sleepy moan and his dick twitched, seemingly in appreciation. It felt strange but definitely not bad lying hard against me, I shifted myself upward slightly, careful not to put too much weight on sleepy Edward and this time the moan was much more pronounced, and the twitch returned.

I knew he was awake, or at least soon would be so I started placing kisses along his hard shoulders, up his neck and then along his jaw. His stubble was a little bit rough on my lips but I knew by tomorrow morning, or Monday, if I managed to convince him not to shave, it would be nice and soft.

"Baby, are you awake?" I moved myself to lay by his side with one leg still covering his as I continued to kiss him. Now, it was more than obvious he was awake; his left arm came underneath my head so I could curl underneath it and his right hand was moving down my lower back towards my bum.

"Mmmmm tired, morning gorgeous." Sleepy Edward reached down and placed a kiss on the top of my head and I sighed in contentment, but it was time to waken him up a little bit. I continued nuzzling his neck with my face but used my left hand to trail downwards slowly and I smiled when I could feel the trail of hair below his belly button.

"Morning baby, did you sleep well?" The hair was starting to get thicker and I knew I was almost there so as my hand started to come into contact with skin I placed a kiss against his neck, feeling his pulse quicken as I wrapped my hand around him.

"Fu-uuuck." I smiled victoriously but squealed when he turned us over quickly, his dick still in my hand, so we were lying side by side facing each other. I had just started pumping him with my hand when I felt _his_ hand cup my sex. Now _that_ was unexpected.

"Oh…uhh." I made it my mission to concentrate on my hand on his dick rather than his fingers on me, but it was easier said than done. I moaned into his mouth as he kissed me hard and I almost laughed at myself when I used to give a shit about morning breath. I gasped and clenched my thighs as the tip of Edward's cold finger entered me and clenched my eyes shut at how good it felt.

"Open your eyes, I want to see you."

"Fuck, your fingers are cold." I winced in pleasure as I felt his thumb cover the surface of my clit and pressed myself into him for more contact.

"That's because your pussy's so _hot_, and _wet_, and all for me. Do you like touching me Bella, does it turn you on?" Oh God, those words, and _his voice_, all hopes of concentration were lost as he simultaneously plunged his finger all the way into me, knuckle deep.

"You...have...oh _shit…_you have no _idea_." I wrapped my other arm around his shoulders encouraging him to lie on top of me and I whimpered as he removed his fingers from me. Our hips were aligned and I took the chance to grasp him in my hand, probably handling him a little too roughly. My thumb passed over his head and I moved it slowly over the surface experimentally, moving the patch of skin there gently, a low moan erupted from him and I spread the moisture from the tip up and down his dick for lubrication.

"Keep going Bella, don't- don't stop." His breathing was getting heavier and I knew he was getting closer to his release, I smiled happily because I _loved_ doing this. If I had my way, we wouldn't go to work, we'd just stay in bed touching and kissing, I'd much rather hear him moan my name in ecstasy rather than address me formally at work.

"I don't want to stop, I _love_ touching you, do you know how _good_ you feel in my hand Edward, I ache for you _everywhere_." I whispered in his ear because now his forearms were laying either side of my head while his head was nestled in the crook of my neck, his ear next to my lips.

He groaned in appreciation and shifted his weight to move one hand between us, stroking me lightly up and down with the edge of his index finger. The teasing, tickling sensations were driving me crazy and I struggled to remember what I wanted to say.

"I love touching you _here_," I scraped my nails lightly down his abdomen letting my fingers tangle in the hair, still working him with my other hand, "and here," I reached down underneath him to cup his balls with my free hand and squeezed them gently, as I did he hissed into my ear and sucked on my earlobe while his hand moved over my sex, the heel of his palm digging in to where I wanted him most, his fingers teasing my opening, making me even wetter for him.

"But do you know where I _really_ like touching you Edward?" I spoke softly and let go of him to free up both my hands and almost laughed when he grunted in disapproval. I let my actions speak for themselves as I cupped both of his bum cheeks with my hands and squeezed, not so gently, letting my nails dig into the firm skin just ever so slightly.

"Fuck Bella you have no idea…uhhhh." His reaction was immediate, his head fell to the mattress and his dick got harder, bringing it back to my attention, which I returned with great enthusiasm. His plunged two fingers into me and I clenched around him in surprise, I really didn't have a lot of space down there and I had no idea how he'd ever be able to fit more than two fingers in there.

"Fuck baby you're so _tight_, you feel so good." I kissed the side of his neck and bit him lightly, reminding him of when he did the exact same thing to me. I understood it now though; I wanted to _mark_ Edward, because no one else was getting their hands on my man.

His face was still resting in my neck and I faltered slightly when his tongue started tracing circles on my neck and now his heavy breathing was matched by mine, Edward's tongue was a magical thing and with my now free hand I pulled his face to mine to kiss me. The dual sensations of his tongue in my mouth and his finger rubbing tight circles on my clit were almost enough to send me over the edge, almost.

_My God _he tasted good in the morning; I still couldn't get over it. Our lips moved together wet and passionate and I found myself lifting my hips to meet his as I traced the veins of his dick with my thumb while I stroked him. It should have felt strange that I was practically forcing myself on his fingers but it felt so good I couldn't really bring myself to care.

Gasping as his mouth hovered just over mine I reached up slightly and sucked his bottom lip in between mine and ran my tongue over it. He let out a harsh breath and started moving his fingers in and out of me at a faster pace and I soon began to feel the now familiar tightening at the apex of my legs.

"Oh God Edward, oh, fuck, uhh." I felt him smile against me and I clenched my eyes shit in concentration to remember that this wasn't just all about me.

I continued pumping him and smiled when his hips started thrusting in synch with my movements. There was a slight sheen of sweat at the back of his neck that I could feel as I moved my fingers through his hair and pulled _hard_ when his hips lowered to mine and I could feel him _there_. The feeling of his fingers and his dick against me made me scream in pleasure. There weren't any barriers between us as he panted above me and I couldn't think of anything hotter than _really_ feeling him against me _there_.

"Edward I'm going to… are you close?" I wondered if it was possible for us to come together and decided that's exactly what I wanted. I pumped him harder and grinned when I felt him begin to shudder on top of me, he seemed to realise my intention and brought his other hand to pinch my nipple, I was so close that that was all it took to set me off, my hips shot off the bed and I wrapped my calves around him, my hand still holding his dick as he came long and hard.

"Shit, fuck, fuck fuck fuck, I'm gonna, argh BELLA!" He thrust into my hand violently in several spurts and the feel of it against my stomach was more than I could take.

"Oh God, uhhh fuck EDWARD!" My legs shook violently and it was the hardest I'd ever come, my breathing was too heavy and I moved lifted my arm to wipe the hair out of my face. As soon as I could breathe properly without sounding like I'd just run a marathon I reached up and attacked his mouth with mine.

He moaned into my mouth and the vibrations that went through my lips tickled me and I gasped as he pushed his tongue forcefully in between my lips. He sucked my tongue into his mouth and stroked it with his; I was still coming down from my high and wanted to be as close to him as possible.

Our lips didn't stop moving as his hips slowed down from their frantic pace. His hands came up to support some of his weight but I pulled him back down, loving the feel of him on me and smiled as his forehead pressed against mine gently.

"That was…" He couldn't seem to find the words and I knew exactly what he meant.

"Yeah, I know." I nodded against him and pressed a kiss to his nose, loving that I could be with him like this.

"I didn't know it was possible to want someone as much as I want you. Even after what we've just done, I can't get enough of you. _God Bella the things I want to do to you._ There aren't enough hours in the day." He wiped us both so we were clean and pulled me around so he was sitting against the headboard and I was straddling him so we were face to face. I blushed as it dawned on me that I was still naked, we _both _were and I quickly covered my chest with my arms only to be met by Edward putting them back again.

"Baby, don't hide yourself from me. I love being like this, just us, nothing in the way, it's _perfect_, _you're _perfect." I scoffed at his words but had to bite back a gasp as his hands came underneath me, lifting my bottom slightly so my breasts were at the level of his mouth. He took my nipple in his mouth and began to run his tongue over it, before sucking on it gently and then biting.

"Edward…we have to get ready for work." I don't know why I was trying to make him stop what he was doing, it felt incredible, and apparently other parts of me agreed.

_Shu__t the fuck up Swan, Edward has his mouth on your boob; no words are needed from you. Sit back and enjoy!_

"Sweetheart, we have two hours until we need to be at work, which means I can spend two hours feeling you come apart for me _again_. I want to show you just how _much_ I want you, I want _taste_ you." His voice was whispering in my ear and my eyes shot open at his words at his words. Did he really want to, I mean, put his mouth _there?_ Oh my…

He chuckled and used one hand to massage my other breast while his mouth returned to the one he had previously been pleasuring. I didn't realise that while he was talking he had shifted me forward and I could feel _it_ against the front of me, and for the life of me I couldn't believe how good it felt. With his mouth on me and his hand tweaking my other nipple, I sounded found myself thinking of a number of reasons why it would be fucking stupid to go in today.

"God I love _these_, I see you at work and it makes me so hard when I think about _licking _them, _sucking _them, sometimes I can't think about anything but how perfect they feel in my hands." I shut my eyes and let my head roll back in pleasure but gasped as I realised he was becoming hard again in front of me. Every little twitch seemed to be going straight through me as I moaned for friction. I dug my fingers into his hair and kissed him again, wanting more, always more as I felt myself start to throb, all the more because of what was sitting directly in front of me.

What the _fuck._

We both froze as we heard a knock at the door and my eyes flew open again wondering who it could be.

Shit shit shit shit shit shit.

"Who the fuck is that?" I whispered in a panicked voice to him praying that the person outside the apartment hadn't been out there for long, they would've gotten quite a surprise.

"It's not my parents, they're away this weekend. But you should answer the door; we don't know who it is. Put these on." He reached down and handed me a t-shirt then got up to find me something to put on my bottom half. I smiled when I realized both items belonged to him because they smelled of him.

I made my way across the bedroom, almost tripping as I tried to pull on the sweat pants as well as straightening out the t-shirt. I got to the door and prayed that I at least looked presentable.

"Who is it?"

"It's Rosalie, let me in." What on earth does she want? I heard Edward snort from the bedroom and hoped that he'd either closed the door or put some clothes on. No-one should get to enjoy the sight of naked Edward if I can't. I opened the door and was almost bowled over by hurricane Rosalie who had no qualms about barging into my apartment.

"Well, now I know why you took so long to answer the door. Who have you been doing? Is it Edward? Oh my God did you finally suck it up and fuck him? I wouldn't be surprised after I fitted you out with all those tight ass skirts, I bet he couldn't keep his hands off you, I bet- Bella, something's different about your apartment."

"Uh Rosalie -" I wasn't sure I was ready for this volume of noise this early.

"It's almost _masculine_, there's CDs lying everywhere and why do you have men's jackets and oh my God you asked him to move in with you! You _fucked_ him and now he's living here, hells Bells you move fast!" She was reaching uncomfortable levels of noise now and I wanted to slap my hand over her mouth, but I don't think that'd go down too well.

"Rosalie, please, maintain low tones." I rubbed my temples to give her the idea she was causing me a headache, which if she carried on much longer, she would be.

"Oh my God you _are _living with him. That's _really_ quick. Are you sure?"

"No, actually, now you say it, I'm having second thoughts, you're right, I'll just go and tell him to pack his things and move out. What the hell Rosalie _of course _I'm sure, it's what I want, and I don't care whether it's 'too quick' or not, I know what I want." I realised my sarcasm probably wasn't the nicest way to talk to her but I was defensive about the decisions I'd made that meant having Edward in my life. The man I _loved_ meant everything to me. I smiled to myself knowing I could tell Edward soon, more than that, I _wanted_ to tell him sooner rather than later, but I had to wait for the right moment.

"Earth to Bella, no sarcasm from you missy, I won't take your shit, now let's get you changed and get on with it." She sounded more like the Rosalie I was used to; no nonsense and to the point.

"Get on with what? Why do we need to be in my bedroom? And actually, why are you even here?" I paused in confusion and waited for her to enlighten me.

"Argh, if I want things done properly I should just do them myself. Carlisle Cullen was supposed to call you this week to tell you I would be coming round to fit your dress for you. You know the one for the Benefit? Traitor, I can't _believe_ he couldn't take five minutes to call and warn me about this.

Great, just great. Now not only do I have to go into work on a Saturday I have to be prodded and poked to be fitted for a dress for a Benefit I don't even want to go to.

I walked towards my bedroom, resigned that it would probably be better to just get it over and done with, the quicker the better. I knocked on the door making sure Edward was 'decent' before we came in. For some reason as soon as we walked through the doors, Rosalie hummed appreciatively, for her sake, I hoped it wasn't at Edward, I hoped he had a shirt on at least.

"Well he _is_ domesticated isn't he, making the bed, folding the linen, seems like you've got him wrapped around your little finger." I didn't like the way she made Edward sound like a pet, or something I had to train. I didn't ask Edward to tidy up, I was pleased that he had but I wouldn't have been mad at him if he hadn't.

"Rosalie Hale, do you make a habit of talking to people as if they aren't there or am I an exception?" I couldn't help but smile at the curious sarcastic sound of his voice and wanted to walk to him and kiss the hell out of him. That's my man.

She huffed in response and presumably began to sort out the bags of clothes she'd brought with her.

"Rosalie wants to fit me for my dress for the Benefit; could you give us some privacy please?" I was shy as I was asking him; technically he could refuse, after all this was his bedroom as well, but ever the gentleman he agreed before coming over to me. I sighed in contentment as he pulled me into his arms and pressed a chaste kiss into me hair.

"Whatever you decide on, you'll look perfect." He squeezed me to him quickly and left the room without another word.

"You look like you swallowed a coat hanger. Looks like his not the only whipped one around here."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, but I've never been happier." There was silence between us as I started getting undressed and I wondered what she was thinking.

"You love him, don't you?" I did nothing but smile shyly at her and put my arms out for her to dress me.

I should have put up more of a resistance, we must have been trying on things for almost an hour, but it felt like much longer than that. I think it'd been ten dresses, maybe more and I had almost reached breaking point, she put me in different underwear each time, then shoes, then a different dress, and then pulled my hair into different styles, holding it up experimentally.

"Are we done yet?" I could hear Edward pacing about in the lounge and I was just as eager to go to him as he was apparently to return to me, plus I needed to shower and wash my hair.

"Hmmm, I'm not sure, I might come over again with some more, of course they all look fabulous but I'm not sure we've found _the one_ yet. Give me a week, I'll let you know." Oh great, _more_ trying on.

"I can't wait."

"Calm down Bella, it's only a dress. Anyway, I'm glad we got this sorted, but I have a shoot to get to in an hour and I have to drop these back at my apartment. I'll call you and we'll meet for lunch and then you can give me all the dirty details on Mr Cullen." I laughed at how she made it sound like I had something to do with the decision of the dress, this was all on her. I also wasn't surprised she wanted to hear about Edward, and how good he was in bed. I suppose it was natural that she would assume that because we were living together, that we had gotten _that far_. I blushed because I knew I wasn't quite ready for that yet, but this morning, had been, well, phenomenal, to say the least.

I bid Rosalie goodbye and laughed when she bid Edward goodbye with a curt 'Cullen' and he responded with an equally short 'Hale'. I was snapped out of my amusement as I heard him come toward me and wrap his arms around me, this time placing his hands at the bottom of my back to pull me closer to him.

"I thought she'd never leave. Is it bad that I missed you?"

"No that's a _good_ thing. You would've been bored though, she was just playing Bella Barbie, nothing fun about that, trust me." His arms wrapped around my waist and he started placing kisses up my neck.

"No I probably would've gotten bored, all that undressing you, watching you walk around in heels and seeing how beautiful you look in your dress, yeah I can think of better things to do." I laughed at his fake nonchalance but gasped as his small kisses changed to slow open mouthed kisses up to my ear and along my jaw to my mouth.

"Don't think I forgot about you love, just because Rosalie Cockblocker Hale decided to show up, doesn't mean I won't finish what I started." His hands moved to the waistline of the sweat pants I was wearing and slowly pulled them down, giving me time to object if I wanted to, but I couldn't.

The way he touched me, the way he moved around me, it was so reverent, and I knew he would never take advantage of me. His fingers hesitated slightly at the hem of his t-shirt that I was wearing and instead of waiting for him I covered his fingers with mine and pulled it over my head.

I bit my lip in anticipation and reached for his own shirt and frowned when I realised he'd already taken it off, I moved my hands to his waist instead and tugged down at his flannel trousers, once they were off he took a step towards me and I appreciated just _how much_ he'd missed me.

"God you're hard _again_." I blushed in embarrassment, I wasn't meant to say that out loud, but seriously it was pretty amazing to me, one look at my naked body and he was all ready to go, it was something of an ego boost.

"Only for you love." I smiled at his endearment and ran my fingers lightly up and down his chest, pleased to stay in the moment and enjoy him.

"Bella, umm, do you want to, I mean we don't have to its fine, but do you want to take a shower, together?" He sounded nervous and I laughed because it was so unlike him.

"Why are you nervous?"

"I don't know, showering together is kind of _intimate_, I didn't know if you -"

I brought my hand to his mouth to silence him, silly boy, "Edward, I had my hand on your dick for the better part of the morning, and you've already seen me naked and you haven't run away screaming so I'm not averse to intimacy. Come on, we can save water." I tried to wink at him but it probably made my eyes look freakier than they already were. As soon as I spoke he picked me up in his arms and we both laughed at his silliness, I liked this, there was no pressure, it was easy being with Edward, easy as breathing.

One thing I can definitely say is that we _did not_ save water. Apparently there wasn't really a limit on how much I could orgasm in one morning, he'd given me another two orgasms and I was exhausted, but definitely not tired of him. He didn't put his mouth on me, and I was kind of disappointed, but I guess he was waiting until we had more time and until he thought I would be completely comfortable with it. I knew he wanted me to ask for it, he was so conscious of pushing me too far, but I had no idea about asking him about that kind of thing. I'm sure 'Edward can you make me come with your magical tongue?' would be the most ridiculous thing ever, I just hoped he brought it up again so I could nod or something.

We'd made it into work by just after eight thirty and I hadn't seen him since this morning. Everyone had been as pleased as I was that things had worked out yesterday and had come in with a positive attitude to finish everything up today so they could start the weekend properly. I was relieved when just after lunch Angela called me to say that Edward wanted to see me which I thought was a little strange because he'd usually just come into my office, but I wasn't going to question any time with him.

I listened to the click of my heels as I walked in and expected to be greeted by him and frowned when I realised he must have stayed at his desk.

"Hey, is everything ok?" I flattened my palms against my skirt and I suddenly felt nervous for some reason, but more than that, I was feeling guilty, his silence was making me anxious.

"Bella, is there anything you want to tell me?" His voice was level like he was trying to hold something back and I racked my brain for anything that could have happened that he would be mad about. Oh shit. It hit me like a ton of bricks and I immediately knew why I was here. He'd seen the tape. And I was about to get an earful.

"I'm sorry." My voice was small and I knew one apology wouldn't be enough.

"How could you be so…reckless, so _stupid_?" My head shot up at his words and my temper immediately flared and I had to bite back the anger that was threatening to surface.

"When did you see it?" I didn't need him to clarify what he was talking about, I knew this was it.

"About half an hour ago, Felix pulled me aside asking if you were ok. Of course, because you didn't fucking bother to tell me I had no idea what happened, he showed me the tape. Seriously what the _fuck_ were you thinking?" I flinched at his words, Edward didn't swear nearly as much as I did so I knew it really meant he was upset when he did.

"He didn't hurt me, you saw, I was fine, I -" I stepped back as I heard him get up and walk quickly towards me, banging his hands against the door either side of my head as he spoke.

"The motherfucker had his hands on you! He _restrained_ you Bella and he _touched_ you. Do you know how fucking _sick_ I feel knowing I was a minute away from that? I knew I should have gone with you, he's a fucking creep! You're never going to be alone in a room with him again, do you hear me?" His tone was deafening and I wanted to put my hands over my ears he was so loud but no doubt that wouldn't have gone down too well.

"I'm sorry." I couldn't say anything else, I couldn't think of an appropriate justification to my actions right now and I didn't want him to be mad at me anymore.

"Why Bella, why? Why the hell didn't you call Felix the second he started getting out of line?"

"I don't know I guess I just wanted to finish it with him, I didn't want to back down."

"This isn't about power Bella, it's about realising when you're in a fucking dangerous situation and having some sense of self preservation!"

"I _am_ sorry; it won't happen again, I know it was stupid." I hung my head in shame, I was in the wrong and I knew it, we both did. He was silent for a couple of minutes, presumably trying to calm down and I was happy to wait for him, I always would, I needed us to be ok. He lifted my chin to meet his gaze with his finger and spoke in a much softer tone.

"You are the most important thing to me, and I know I can't be with you _all_ the time, but you have to promise me to look after yourself when I can't. I would _never_ be able to forgive myself if he had hurt you, I can't let that happen."

"I know, and I promise." I held his face in my hands and smiled when I felt the muscles relaxed and pressed my forehead to his, breathing him in and knowing that we'd be alright.

"I love you." I whispered against his lips and I felt his body tense against me and his face shifted in my hands.

"What-What did you say?" He sounded hesitant but hopeful and I wanted him to be sure of what I'd said, because nothing had ever been truer.

"I love you Edward. I'm not just saying it because I'm sorry, I -" I smiled into his mouth as his lips cut me off and he lifted me into his arms walking us over to the sofa and setting us down.

"Say it again." He sounded excited and I loved that he felt like that.

"I love you, I should have told you sooner but, I don't know."

"You don't know how long I've waited for you; I've wanted to tell you everyday. You're my life now. I love you so much sweetheart." We kissed slowly and it was more perfect than anything else we'd ever done, hearing those words. Better than orgasms, better than hearing him shout my name as he came, better than my first kiss. It was _everything_, everything I wanted and more than I thought I ever needed.

I clenched my eyes shut to stop the tears that were threatening to fall, but it was futile, I felt his fingers on my face wiping away the moisture and I bit my lip and I smiled at him.

As several more tears fell he kissed my eyes, telling me he loved me, then my nose, both of my cheeks, and finally my lips.

"I'm still kind of pissed at you about James."

"I know, Edward I'm -"

"But I love you, more than anything."

"I'm never going to get bored of hearing that." I smiled widely again as he nuzzled my nose with his and we laughed together.

"Good because I'm _never_ going to stop telling you."

**So I know it was a bit shorter than some of my more recent chapters, but I promised you fluff and lemons for reviews and because you are all so bloody incredible and review insanely fast, I give you fluff and lemons. And an 'I love you'…**

**So Emmett's next and you have NO IDEA how excited I am about writing him, my fingers are itching to do it, itching I tell you! But alas, I haven't been at work for two days and I'm flying to Moscow on Friday so things will be a little busy for a while, but don't worry, I won't make you wait ridiculous amounts of time. **

**Thank you for reading; I'd love to hear what you thought about anything in the chapter.**

**I hope you've all opened your advent calendar, if you have one **

**Happy Snowy Wednesday, **

**Aurora**


	24. Emmett

**Thank you so much for your reviews to the last chapter and your well wishes for my time in Moscow, which seems so long ago now. I am so very sorry for not updating in so long. My dear friend and colleague Marie was in an awful car accident at the beginning of the year which has meant that I've spent a lot of my 'free' time at the hospital with her and also covering a lot of her work, which has meant a lot more travelling than I'm used to this time of year.**

**Unfortunately I won't be able to update every week as her care is still on going at home, but I'll try my very best to get you an update before the end of the month. **

**Thank you again readers, for your kind words and patience.**

**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright February 2011.**

_Last time…_

"_I'm still kind of pissed at you about James."_

"_I know, Edward I'm -"_

"_But I love you, more than anything."_

"_I'm never going to get bored of hearing that." I smiled widely again as he nuzzled my nose with his and we laughed together. _

"_Good because I'm never going to stop telling you." _

**Chapter 24 – Emmett**

"I don't think I'm doing this right. My leg's all twisted." Edward decided that Sunday morning yoga should be something we both do, except he wasn't actually doing any of it himself, he was just looking at positions in a book and telling me how to do them.

"No that's part of the stretch; you have to breathe into it."

"Edward, I'm fairly flexible, but I'm not sure the human body is _meant_ to bend like this. Are you sure you're looking at it right." I was beyond convinced if not _certain_ that he was reading the instructions wrong, but I didn't want to criticise him too strongly, he seemed to be taking his new self appointed job as my yoga teacher fairly seriously. Naturally I struggled to keep a straight face.

"Bella, I'm looking at this thing and your left leg folds over while your hand reaches under to grasp the other one around your body." No wonder I was getting confused. He sounded mildly exasperated and I really did have to stifle a giggle.

"Yes but sweetheart, you told me it was my right leg." I shifted my position into what the stretch was supposed to be and instantly felt better.

"No I didn't, look Bella, do you want me to teach you or not?" That was it; I'd lost my control and collapsed on the floor in a fit of giggles. He didn't know a single position in yoga yet he'd managed to convince himself he could teach someone else.

"Well if you don't want me to do it then I won't." I hid my face in my hands trying to stop the giggles. I was such a bad person.

"It's not funny Bella."

"No- it, no it really, really is." I'm pretty sure I sounded like Muttley from Dennis the Menace right now but hearing him sound so sure of himself was hilarious. I lay on my back on my yoga mat trying desperately to reign in my laughter. "Edward you've never even been to a yoga class. How can you possibly teach me?" I had a feeling my sleeping dog would be a better teacher than him right now.

"Well, I- it's just about following the instructions in the book, but because you decided not to follow my very precise teaching, you got it wrong." I had to grit my teeth together as I crawled towards him on my mat, a smile on my face despite my efforts.

"Baby we should just go to a class or get someone to come here and teach us."

"You know why we can't go to a class." I felt bad for the first part of my suggestion when I remembered exactly why we wouldn't be able to do something as simple and normal as go to a yoga class together. I kept forgetting that as much as I was ready for Edward and I to do as many things together as a couple as possible, the rest of the world was not, namely the press. It was still such a fragile time for Edward at CGB. He was going to be officially announced as CEO of his father's company at the Benefit and even if most his employees acknowledged this anyway, there were still a few who would question his authority, not directly of course. So there was absolutely no way he could be seen going to a fitness class with someone like me, I knew we had to be much more careful than that, it didn't mean that I had to like it though.

He positioned himself so he was sitting with his back against the sofa whilst I leant against him, my back to his chest. It felt wonderful.

"I'm sorry I brought it up." I held one of his hands in between two of mine and gently kneaded his palm.

"Don't be sorry, it's just the way things are for now, but it's not going to be forever, you know that." He pressed a loving kiss to my temple and I couldn't help but smile, I loved how patient he was with me.

"Yeah, I know. But we could still get an instructor to come here. That could be fun." He let out another sigh and I wondered what I'd said wrong.

"Umm, no I don't think so." I turned around to face him, now sitting cross-legged between his legs. I was confused because I honestly couldn't think of what could be wrong with that, we could probably get them to sign some sort of confidentiality agreement if he was _that_ paranoid. I explained this to him but he still wasn't keen.

"Why not? I've got more than enough space for both of us to do it in the lounge."

"Well I actually had a look online this morning, and most of the instructors were men." His explanation did nothing to help me understand his negativity but I was glad that he'd at least been looking. We went out to dinner last night, again in a private dining room, because according to Edward we had something to celebrate, which was declaring our mutual love. Not that I didn't think it was an occasion or sentiment worthy of celebration, but I clearly still needed to get used to his extravagant nature. It was during the meal that I'd mentioned that we should do something together regularly, other than going into the same building for work. He was the one to suggest yoga.

"I don't see the problem with a male instructor." I felt like I was missing out on something quite obvious but I really had no idea.

"Think about it sweetheart. Why would a man become a yoga instructor unless he wanted to look at women in Lycra all day?" Oh my God.

"Edward that's ridiculous, they're professionals, you're making them out to be perverts. How can you be so narrow minded?"

"Well…"

"Well nothing, you can't make that kind of judgement about people because of their job.

"Alright so maybe they're not all bad but you've got to admit it's a possibility."

"Oh come on I wouldn't refuse to have another woman in the apartment because I'd be afraid she were eye-fucking you."

"You wouldn't?" His voice was quiet and he sounded disappointed.

"No, and why do you sound offended?"

"Well, I just, I can't _stand_ the thought of another man looking at you the way I do, you're mine, and no-one else should get to, well, _enjoy _you the way I do. I just figured that you'd feel the same." I sighed in understanding. I realised that Edward had never been in any type of meaningful relationship before, he'd told me as much, and I think the feeling of jealousy was starting to get to him.

"I do Edward; I hate the thought of some other woman catching your attention, why do you think I sent Tanya Denali to New York?" I was surprised he hadn't figured that one out sooner, and retrospectively, it was a pretty childish move on my part, but Carlisle wouldn't have allowed it if he didn't think there was at least _some_ foundation for it.

"I thought that was just Dad, that he'd heard rumours and wanted me to straighten up." He pulled his knees up around me and wrapped his arms around my back.

"When I found out about how _close_ you were with her back then I couldn't think of anything else but how to get her out of the way, it was a stupid thing to do I know, but I just -" I couldn't finish my sentence as Edward's mouth cut me off, he devoured me hungrily and I let him, welcomed him, obviously I'd done the right thing in his opinion.

"Bella, when most women get jealous they say a few spiteful remarks or maybe the other gets a slap, but you sent her to another country. Do you know how hot that is?"

"I tried to convince myself that I did it for the benefit of your work but I think I may have been being selfish."

"In that case, be as selfish as you like, it's fine by me." I laughed into the crook of his neck and he pulled me closer to him, so I was now straddling him on the floor

"Only because I love you." I traced my nose over the shell of his ear as I whispered the words I'd only told him for the first time the day before.

"You can say that as much as you like as well." I lifted my hands to his hair and ran my nails lightly over his scalp, which was still slightly damp from our shower this morning.

"Good, I might even include it in my speech for the Benefit." He laughed under me and I was glad we'd been able to get back to some lighter conversation.

"Are you looking forward to it?" We picked ourselves up and he walked me over to the kitchen, hands on my hips, guiding me where I needed to go, not out of necessity but it was a habit he'd picked up and I found that I didn't mind it at all.

"Giving a speech? I'm kind of indifferent about it, I mean, there's going to be a lot of people there, not that I can see any of them, also it's a huge honour for him to ask me to do it but -"

"No, I was talking about the Benefit itself. It'll be so different from your first time. Did you decide on a dress?" We were in the kitchen now, he'd perched me on one of the work surfaces while he stood in between my legs, our faces level.

"No but Rosalie said she's going to call me next week with some more choices, she hasn't found _the one_ yet. Speaking of Rosalie, do you know her, it seemed like you guys had met before. I didn't know that."

"Well yes and no. I told you about Emmett, well, he's kind of obsessed with her. I mean, not in a freaky stalker way, he just thinks she's the best thing in the world, and I don't really see the attraction."

"Edward she models for Vogue, so she's probably one of the most beautiful women in the world. You can't really blame him."

"I know, I've just never had any fascination for her, she always comes across so proud when I've seen her at functions on the arm of some banker. And why would I need to look at magazine models when I already have the most beautiful woman." He stated the last part as if it was blatantly obvious and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh you're so smooth Cullen." I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him in towards me, my lips found his and I sighed in contentment. His right hand went up into my hair and the other around my waist to pull me closer still. The kiss started off slow but soon progressed to passionate. I fisted my hands in his hair and moaned as his tongue entered my mouth, just as things were starting to get interesting however, my stomach decided it was time for breakfast. When the small grumble turned into something more I knew I had to do something about it.

I pulled away breathless and slightly embarrassed, I'd completely forgotten about food up until then, having been otherwise _occupied_.

"Sorry, I guess I should've thought about breakfast sooner."

"No it's my fault; my stomach should be more patient. What do you fancy eating? I don't think we have anything in." He stepped away from me and helped me down off the counter, lifting me easily and placing me on the ground gently. His hands stayed on my hips until they started to move downwards, tantalizingly slowly.

"Well I can think of something I'd just love to _devour_ right now." I hummed in appreciation at his words as his hands reached my bottom and kneaded it slowly with his large hands. His head was bent so I was easily able to reach up to him for a kiss. I knew I wouldn't be able to respond with anything mildly resembling the English language so I kissed him instead. It was quite clear that he was more than willing to take our sexual relationship further but I needed time, I loved him more than anything and trusted him completely, but I needed to come to terms with everything that had been happening in my own time. I hadn't really had time to stop and appreciate how much had changed over the past few weeks. Maybe I needed to set some time aside to think about just that.

"Hey what's wrong? Sweetheart I didn't mean to imply that we had to do anything." He must have taken my silence for rejection, which certainly wasn't the case. I wanted him; God there was no doubt of that in my mind, but physically how much how soon? That I'd have to work on.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about us. About how _amazing_ the last few weeks have been. You've kind of turned my life around." His hands cupped my face as he pressed a kiss to my forehead and whispered his love for me, it was perfect. The moment was interrupted when my hunger decided to voice itself again and we both laughed quietly.

"How about I go out and get us something. We can do shopping later ok?"

"Sure. Don't be too long though alright?" I fisted my hands in his shirt and pulled myself up on my tip toes to kiss him as he was grabbing his wallet and keys.

"Baby I'll be as quick as I can, I promise." We were in the doorway and I turned around to sort out my laundry but stopped at the sound of his voice.

"Oh Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." I grinned like the Cheshire cat and repeated the words back to him. When I was sure he wasn't going to knock on the door again I couldn't help but jump up and down at how happy I was. Being with Edward made me giddy and I honestly tried not to let my dorky side show too often but I was so blissfully happy that sometimes it leaked out. While I was waiting for him I decided to get all our laundry together and give Amita a call at the home to see how Charlie was getting on. While I was sitting in one place, Sheila decided to come over and sit on my feet, as is customary when I'm on the phone.

I'd just finished talking with her when I heard a knock at the door. We must have been talking longer than I thought. I chuckled to myself, why Edward didn't use his key I don't know, perhaps he forgot it.

Swinging my front door wide open I practically jumped into his arms but stopped myself as soon as I wrapped my arms around him.

Because it wasn't Edward.

This guy was huge; he was built like a fucking tank.

"Bloody hell!" My hand slapped over my mouth which unfortunately didn't mask my shock.

"Well if that's the greeting I'm gonna get every time I would've come sooner." A booming, _unknown_ voice assaulted my ears and I panicked. Who was this man? And why was he at my apartment? I certainly didn't know him. Was he a friend of Edward's?

"Sir, I'm so sorry, oh shit, I thought you were someone else. Can I ask what you're doing at my front door?" His accent was American, but hardly similar to Edward's, his tone was friendly, but the accent was a lot thicker. My knowledge of accents was far too restricted for me to be able to recognise it. I was trying to work out who he could be, how many of Edward's friends knew he lived here?

"Man, Eddie didn't mention how British you are, it's awesome! Oh, I'm Emmett by the way." Oh, so _this_ was Emmett. Good thing Edward had at least mentioned him a couple of times. But what was he doing _here?_ In fact, how did he even know where I lived?

"Well, I'm Bella, but I'm guessing you already know that." I put my hand out for him to shake but apparently he was having none of that. Before I could protest he'd gathered me up into his arms into what I can only describe as a bear hug. I was swept entirely off the floor with his hands around me and I had to seriously stifle the urge to scream. He's Edward's friend, he's ok, and he probably wouldn't appreciate it if you slapped him.

Actually I doubt he'd feel it.

He was laughing at my attempt of wriggling out of his grasp

"Um, uh, Emmett you can put me down now." He set me down on the ground gently and I was glad he hadn't just decided to drop me; I'd have landed in a heap. In a nervous attempt at conversation, running my hand through my hair, I asked him if Edward was expecting him, which I didn't think was likely since he would have told me.

"No, Eddie doesn't know. I thought I'd just stop by and surprise him y'know. I tried his place but I figured he'd be here with you. I helped him move some of his stuff he before when he moved in. Plus, it's nice to put a face to the hours and hours of Belly talk I've had to endure, no offense."

"Excuse me, Belly talk?" I'd finally decided to let him inside now, if he was an axe murderer, then Sheila would take care of him. Speaking of She, I didn't have time to warn him about her before he came in. He was big enough to take care of himself. By the sounds of it, she certainly didn't have any aversion to Emmett and I trusted her judgement, so he was ok in my books.

"Do you want anything to drink? I think we have, well actually, I'm not sure, Edward's gone out to get breakfast so I'm not sure what I'll be able to salvage."

"That's cool thanks, I bought Coke over, mainly to piss off Eddie but it tastes good too." I laughed at that. I imagined Emmett to be just the kind of friend that would do small things that he knew would piss off Edward, I imagined calling him Eddie was another one of these.

"Sorry I forgot to ask, are you allergic to dogs? I hope she's not a problem, because some people -"

Shit shit shit. Fuck-shit bollocks fuck!

I just remembered I hadn't put my glasses on while I'd been talking to Emmett.

"What's up?" He sounded worried but slightly amused at my sudden cursing, which I'd apparently voiced aloud.

"I'll be right, I just need- to get, something." I spoke as I hurried out of the room. How could I be so stupid? I never forget my glasses. Emmett was probably mentally scarred now but too nice to say anything. I sighed in relief when I found them at my bedside; I just hadn't been expecting anyone other than Edward so I felt no need for them. I know I certainly hadn't forgotten them when Rosalie came over yesterday. While I was in my room I decided to call Edward, to at least let him know to expect his friend when he came home.

"Hey baby, everything ok?"

"Yeah I just wanted to let you know that we had company." I wanted to make him guess.

"Who? It can't be Mom and Dad, they're still away. It's not them is it?"

"Nope, guess again." I could practically hear the cogs turning around in his head trying to work out who it could be.

"Someone from work, no, they wouldn't come on a Sunday, look I'll be back as soon as I can, just –oh man it's Emmett isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Let me talk to him, I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you sweetheart." I walked back to the living room where I could hear Emmett throwing the ball around for Sheila and subsequently being jumped on. I followed the noise and chuckled when Sheila immediately came over to me, ball in mouth, nudging my leg to play. I handed the phone to Emmett and sat down cross legged with Sheila leaning against me.

"Ed, you're worrying too much, relax man- look, yeah ok, ok I promise. Yeah alright, later Eddie." He hung up the phone laughing and handed it to me.

"What was that all about?"

"Oh he's just getting his panties in a twist over not being here to control what I say to you. Think he's worried I'll embarrass him, we went to college together so I've got a lot of stories."

"He always worries too much; you'll have to tell me some of the things you two got up to. But first, what was that about Belly talk you were saying before?"

"Well Belly's your nickname, you know, Belly and Eddie, it kind of goes well. And the talk bit, well I definitely know Ed doesn't want me telling you about this yet, but he's not here is he?" I shook my head and laughed at his mischievous tone, I had my suspicions that Emmett was really just a big kid, I liked his carefree attitude.

"He used to call me up and do his whiney emo shit over the phone. 'Emmett she's so perfect, Emmett I think I ruined my chances, she thinks I'm an idiot, I'm so in love with her, she's the one Emmett blah blah blah.' No offense Belly, you seem great, but there's only so much whining a guy can take from his boy. Honestly I wanted to send you a fucking swing band when you put him out of his misery. My ears were gonna fall off." Emmett's voice when he was impersonating Edward was hilarious but what he was saying was truly touching. How long had he been feeling that way, I wondered.

"He's lucky he could talk to you."

"Damn straight. But seriously, Eddie's a different man since he met you, the way he was going, it wasn't good, so I gotta thank you." My laughter stopped at that, his voice had changed and it wasn't nearly as happy as before.

"What do you mean 'the way he was going'?"

"Yeah he probably doesn't want me to talk about this either, but before you, he was seeing a lot of different women, and, well he wasn't as good a friend as he is now. You've made him a better man." I think I paled slightly at hearing that, I knew he wasn't exactly inexperienced before he met me, but it was always kind of difficult hearing it.

"Thanks Emmett. I'm glad you came over. And I'm sorry about before, I usually don't forget my glasses, it was nice of you not to say anything." I sat quietly stroking Sheila's head, not really knowing what to say other than that.

"Don't be sorry, you're in your own home, you don't even have to wear them, Edward kind of mentioned it, hope you don't mind, and he just didn't want me to say anything for when we met." I kept them on anyway, but it was nice that he'd tried to reassure me.

"Thanks. It's a shame Edward hasn't introduced us before." He laughed as I finished speaking and I wondered what was funny.

"Sorry, it's just, Eddie was _adamant_ that I couldn't meet you until he was sure he'd made a good enough impression. He thought I might scare you off." Now I was laughing too, because I could imagine him saying that, and compared with the people I worked with on a daily basis, Emmett was hardly threatening. He was just a big bear, emphasis on the big.

"It should be the other way around; I'm the one that assaulted you before you came in." As we were laughing Sheila was jumping between the two of us, enjoying the noise I presume, and begging for someone to play with her.

"Sorry for scaring ya...it was funny though."

"Well can you blame me? You're a lot bigger than Edward." I blushed immediately as I realized how what I'd said could be construed, I didn't have to press my hands to my face to know it'd gone all red.

"Oh man, please say that again when he comes in, I'll pay you." He guffawed.

"You're going to have to get used to my verbal fuck ups I'm afraid."

"I think we're gonna get along just fine Belly." He leaned over and wrapped an arm around my shoulder in a friendly hug. I decided Emmett was cool.

"Donut?" He put a box full of sweet smelling goodness on my lap and I was hoping they were Krispy Kreme's; I hadn't had those for years.

"Well you can certainly come over again if you bring these. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"No, not if it beats Eddie's fruit medley he always insists on." I had to laugh at that, not that I didn't love all the food he made for me, but donuts for breakfast certainly wouldn't be on his menu.

Just as I was taking a second bite of heaven I heard a knock at the door. Refusing to believe that it was anyone else other than Edward I excused myself from our donut feast and threw open the door.

"Hey, Emmett brought donuts, you want some?" I could hear he was carrying bags but who in their right mind would refuse a donut?

"Mmm, looks delicious." I held out my one to him but instead he cradled the side of my face with his hand and brought his lips to mine. He pecked them once, guessing the flavours, "fudge," another kiss, but this one was deeper, he sucked my top lip into his mouth and ran his tongue over it, "butterscotch", another kiss, this time making me whimper when he moved his hand into my hair and pressed his lips more forcefully to mine, "and my absolute favourite, Bella".

I lost all sense of propriety after that, completely forgetting that Emmett could probably see us, I wrapped my arms around his neck, setting my donut aside, and opened my mouth to him when I felt his tongue at my lips. The way he was kissing my made my toes curl and my insides tingle. I couldn't get enough. Only when I heard Emmett's not so subtle cough did I try to pull away. This was the first time we were really together in front of someone else and I didn't know how I felt about public displays of affection just yet. I moaned around his lips when Edward decided to pull me closer, I gently pressed one of my hands to his chest, feeling his heart beating just as fast as mine. He seemed to get the message pretty quickly, but he groaned as he pulled away, which didn't help my restraint whatsoever. If Emmett hadn't been here, I'd drag him back to the bedroom and have my wicked way with him, but that would have to wait.

"Hey Emmett, nice of you to tell me you were dropping by."

"Who says I wanted to see you Eddie? I'm just catching up with Belly here." I laughed as Edward let out an exasperated sigh; I bet Emmett devoted a considerable amount of his time to teasing Edward.

He came over and slung his arms around my shoulder jovially, and because Edward was still standing next to me with his arm around my waist, I felt it when Emmett play punched him in the shoulder.

"Knock it off Em, and don't call me Eddie, you know I hate that. I know it's a stupid question but are you still hungry, I got some things for breakfast."

"Ah man you know you love it and you don't even need to ask me shit like that Eddie. Get cooking!" He was clicking his fingers and clapping his hands while Edward grumbled profanities at him. I laughed at the two of them together, I could tell they were really good friends, despite being fairly different.

I used to think I ate a lot. Then I had breakfast with Emmett. He'd eaten four donuts, a bowl of fruit, at Edward's insistence and much to his annoyance, and a five egg cheese, ham and mushroom omelette. I didn't think my frying pan would even be big enough for that but I was proved wrong. His stomach must be a bottom-less pit. Even Edward didn't eat nearly as much, but he was a lot leaner than Emmett which I preferable in my opinion. Physically Emmett was sort of intimidating, and I wouldn't like it if Edward was that big, he'd squash me.

We had a great morning together, the three of us, well four if you count Sheila, who made sure she was always pestering someone. They actually argued over who she liked best, they acted like a divorced couple splitting their assets, or deciding who gets the kids, well in this case, my dog. Edward won in the end, but I think he may have been whispering something about cheese to her.

I was struggling to keep a straight face at the moment because Emmett still found it amazing that I couldn't see a thing and still managed to, and I quote 'go to work and shit like that.'

"I've had a while to get used to it Emmett, and I know my way around my own apartment pretty well."

"Emmett she can't see how many fingers you're holding up." Edward was cleaning up in the kitchen and trying to dissuade Emmett from playing the 'how many fingers am I holding up game' anymore. He wasn't easily convinced.

"So you can't see anything? I mean not even a little teeny bit. You're completely blind."

"Blind as a bat."

"And Sheila tells you where to go, like on roads and stuff and the underground. She's cool with that?" His voice was growing in wonder and it was really hard not to laugh.

"She's a guide dog Emmett, that's what she's trained to do, but yeah, she's pretty amazing."

"She's like a superhero dog. Can I keep her?" I laughed at his analogy, and also at how my accurate description of him being a big kid was.

"No, I kind of need her."

"No you don't, Eddie will carry you around all day, won't you Ed? She's like the best dog ever." Apparently Edward now had competition for the role of Emmett's best friend, it made me happy though, that she was being well behaved, it also made me think that we could ask Emmett instead of Angela to look after her whenever we went out.

"Well if you want, you can look after her sometimes, you could even come running with us if you want. I think she'd like that."

"Sure, we can swap donuts for a dog." I went to turn on my laptop and I heard Edward take a seat on the sofa with Emmett.

"Hey Em guess who was here yesterday?" I smiled to myself as I realised he was going to get his own back with Rosalie.

"I dunno Ed, some balding banking exec?"

"No, much better. One of Bella's friends came over, what was her name baby?"

"I doubt Emmett's heard of her, she does a bit of modelling but she's also my personal shopper. Does Rosalie Hale ring any bells?" I giggled when I heard him choke on his Coke and laughed when Edward scolded him for spilling it.

"Rosalie Hale was _in_ _this apartment_? Holy fuck!"

**A bit of a buffer chapter I know, but I hope you enjoyed the little slice of Emmett I gave you. ****Again readers, I am sincerely sorry for making you wait so long, not long now until the Benefit and then Christmas, which I'm definitely looking forward to writing. **

**Any comments / questions / suggestions are always welcome.**

**Have a good weekend all of you,**

**Aurora**


	25. Substance

**Hello everyone, long time no see (or read)! I wanted to thank everyone so much for the reviews for last chapter and even if I didn't reply (which I'm really sorry about) I read every single one and they all made me smile, so much. A special thank you to addicted2Twifanfics who reviewed LOADS and helped me get to 500 on , she's amazing.**

**I know I said I was going to try and review at the end of February, but here's what happened. I had to go to Moscow again for covering Marie's work, which I didn't particularly mind to be honest, and then the tragedy in Japan happened. My dearest wishes and condolences to any of those who were affected personally by the disaster, I spent a few weeks out there with some of my colleagues in Tokyo doing what we could to help. Then I had to catch up for all the work I'd missed and barely managed to make it home for Mother's Day at the beginning of the month for a couple of hours. All that and more work and here we are. I hope you can forgive me readers, I do try my best. **

**Also I've had emails telling me that people can't PM me, for some reason it was disabled but that's all ok now, so feel free to send me a PM anytime!**

**All that said I really hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright April 2011.**

_Last time…_

"_Hey Em guess who was here yesterday?" I smiled to myself as I realised he was going to get his own back with Rosalie._

"_I dunno Ed, some balding banking exec?"_

"_No, much better. One of Bella's friends came over, what was her name baby?"_

"_I doubt Emmett's heard of her, she does a bit of modelling but she's also my personal shopper. Does Rosalie Hale ring any bells?" I giggled when I heard him choke on his Coke and laughed when Edward scolded him for spilling it. _

"_Rosalie Hale was in this apartment? Holy fuck!" _

**Chapter 25 ****– Substance**

At University I never had this problem. I could type out a five thousand word essay easily and rarely had to change any of the wording at the end. All that I wanted to say came easily to me; I'd pick the title apart, determine what the question was _really_ asking me and think of what else I could throw in to show off what I knew. All the work I did was objective though, sure I was passionate about the subject, but it was never anything personal. Not like the speech I was trying to write now.

The Benefit was Saturday night and I _still_ hadn't put the finishing touches on my speech. I also had a lot of other work to do for the acquisition for the Quileute Group, which was thankfully going well, because I was going to be taking the weekend off after the Benefit. The Monday was a bank holiday and I'd booked Tuesday off as well, which meant that I had a long rest ahead of me, long for me anyway. But I couldn't do _any_ of that until I fixed this damn speech.

I pressed my fingers firmly to my temples to try and ease the pressure I was feeling in my head, probably as a result of all the stress I was putting myself under to try and get the bloody words out. This speech was in honour of two of the most important men in my life. The idea that I would be representing Edward in front of, effectively hundreds of people was both terrifying and exciting to me. Terrifying because regardless of whom I was speaking about, this was still a big deal and _because_ it was Edward I wanted to do my very best, I wanted my speech to do him justice and show the world that he'd be bringing this company to the forefront of the financial market.

But at the same time a part of me was buzzing with excitement because it was _me_ he wanted to introduce him and I'd be incredibly jealous if someone else was given the chance to go up there and talk about my man. I wanted to make him proud; he's the one I really wanted to impress. Even though we'd declared our love for one another, our relationship was still fairly new, only a couple of months old, and there was a lot I still didn't know about him, things that I planned to find out sooner rather than later. It wasn't that I didn't trust him, that wasn't it at all; it was just that there were things about his past that I couldn't stop think about, such as the thing with Aro, which had bothered me a fair bit recently. Equally I knew that he had questions about my childhood and the accident with my parents and the consequences I had to face, but I'd not been ready to answer them before. I was ready now. I'd make sure that during our time off, before or after the Benefit, we'd take time to discuss these issues.

Even if I only had to do it for Carlisle, I'd still be nervous. He was the one who guided me, who gave me confidence in myself. In the beginning when I first joined CGB many people thought that there was something sexual in our relationship, after all I had only just twenty and was very nervous and unassuming, so I think that when he became my mentor and took me under his wing so quickly, people definitely started to notice and gossip.

But it was never like that, Carlisle was and still very much _is_ a happily married man and the only capacity I ever viewed him in was as a teacher and later on, a great friend. I've always respected him, and even if our opinions sometimes differed in business matters, in the end I always understood why he made the choices he did.

He helped me to understand that every action you make will always affect someone other than you, it may be indirect, but our actions always have consequences. I can imagine he gave Edward a similar talk several years ago, if not for slightly different reasons. Sometimes I think back to my early days at CGB in the dealing room, listening to Carlisle shouting down the phone to close a deal, the passion and the determination in his voice, and I hear it in Edward when he works too. And then there's moments when I remember Carlisle calming me down if things started to get too much, often I'd get confused and found it difficult to adjust to such a busy environment with my blindness, but he always calmed me back down, it reminds me of the way I think of Edward, as my anchor. When I compare the two of them I don't do it to spot changes in Edward as we spend more time together, it's just further proof for me that we belong together. When I get frustrated that we can't be as public as other couples can just yet, I remind myself that it doesn't matter, but regardless of what people think, I know that we belong together, forever.

I slapped my head for letting myself get distracted. Procrastinating wasn't going to get my speech written any quicker! Thankfully my headache seemed to have disappeared so maybe taking a few minutes out hadn't been so bad. I leaned back in my chair, rested my feet up on my desk and enjoying the small stretch it was giving my hamstrings. I mouthed the words I already knew I wanted to say, slowly and measured, giving the audience time to absorb each word I was saying and at the same time letting it flow nicely but not in a way that suggested that the words were too rehearsed or false. I smiled to myself as I thought of the advantage I was at, sure I was talking in front of people which always got me a little nervous, but it wasn't like I'd run out of things to say if I did fuck up my speech. I knew that if by some disaster I forgot my words that I'd be able to come up with something just as heart felt and genuine on the spot.

Newt as I'd not so affectionately begun to refer to him in my head popped his head through the door for about the fifth time in the last hour for various things. My reasoning for starting to operate an open door policy was escaping me now.

"Oh uh hi Bella, have you uh, heard from Mr Cullen, only he was due to meet with Anders twenty minutes ago and he uh, well he still isn't here." I could hear Mike rubbing his hands together nervously and if I listened really closely I'd probably be able to hear him shifting from one foot to another, he was so predictable.

"Mike, I know Angela's not here but that doesn't automatically mean that every question relating to Mr Cullen can come through me. I have got things to be getting on with. Now have you tried calling him?" Angela had been off most of the week with flu and because I couldn't be bothered to deal with a temporary PA for Edward I'd been particularly busy trying to deal with some of the stuff she would normally have had to do. But she was a good employee and never normally had time off so I told her to come back again when she was feeling better. I felt my way up out of the chair and made my way over to the left side of the desk where I knew I'd find my white stick.

"Why's your dog not with you today?" He didn't sound too upset about this and I knew it was because Sheila and Newt didn't get along. Well Newt tried, but She wasn't having any of it, maybe there was something wrong with him.

"Oh Sheila wasn't feeling so good this morning so I've left her with a friend and he's going to bring her by later when she's picked up a bit." Emmett had the day off work and was more than happy to come and look after Sheila and bring her by the office after lunch. He'd been practically begging me to let him have her for the day since we'd met a couple of weeks ago and I had to say I trusted him completely with her, he was such a nice guy.

"That's too bad. Anyway I called Mr Cullen and his phone said he was still in a meeting, but the meeting he had scheduled with Mr Volturi was supposed to have finished over half an hour ago. They're sure running over." Ten out of ten for observational skills Newt, that's impressive.

Fucking Aro.

"Well have you paged Aro yet Mike?" I knew the little shit would be too scared to do it; Aro gets pissed off when he thinks people are checking up on him.

"Um no, no I haven't. With all due respect, Mr Volturi, well, he's a little, you know, and he doesn't like to be bothered in meetings." Give me strength.

"Mike, if this meeting is supposed to have finished already as you said, then I see no reason why you haven't already tried to contact Mr Volturi. Sven Anders flew in this morning from Stockholm and I see absolutely no reason why he should be kept waiting a minute longer. Now I am going to go to Mr Anders myself and talk to him and in the meantime I don't care if you or someone else does it, but get Mr Cullen out of that meeting and politely remind them both that meeting schedules are in place for a _reason_."

"Right ok, yeah, I'll just, yeah, I'll do that." He shuffled around a bit and I think he tried to help me out of my own office; I couldn't be sure _what_ it was he was trying to do. It was just _awkward_.

"_Today_ Mike, I can't hear you running." I made sure to lock my office and thanked the guy on duty at the lift when he showed me to the conference room where hopefully Mr Anders was still waiting.

I'd been in contact with Sven Anders since just before I started at CGB again in September. We'd met while I was working for James Jameson and he'd made it more than clear that he'd be interested in offering me a position at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), one of the most prominent financial groups in Sweden. Anders himself is a Senior Advisor, like me, to Peter Wallenberg, whose prestigious family name and reputation go back to the seventeenth century. Needless to say I was incredibly flattered but when Carlisle approached me with the job here at CGB, I virtually forgot all about Sven Anders until I received an email a month or so ago. He was keen to work with Carlisle again because they'd previously worked together on a merger in the eighties which had been extremely successful, apparently their attitudes to business were fairly similar and I'd only heard positive things about him so far. The purpose of today's meeting was for Anders to share the ideas and proposals that he had been given and also meet Edward to see whether he thought they would work well together, and if this worked out well, it could be a very successful move for CGB to start operating in the Scandinavian financial market. Unfortunately, Edward showing up over half an hour late probably wasn't going to make the best first impression.

I went to knock on the door but before doing so I placed my hand next to the door handle to feel the number of the room which was always marked on the outside. Grateful that I'd managed to get the right room I knocked firmly on the door and strode through when I heard Sven's voice from within.

Mr Anders was fairly tall and from his handshake and previous encounters, he was fairly bulky, he had huge hands at least. His voice was measured and there was barely any trace of an accent in his voice, his English was very, _very_ good.

"Good afternoon Mr Anders, thank you for being so patient. I assure you that Mr Cullen will be along soon."

"That's quite alright. It's a pleasure to see you again Miss Swan, I must say I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk today, aside from my meeting with young Edward." His voice was measured, not so much that it was monotone, but I always remember it being slightly strange, almost like he was being careful. This didn't influence my opinion of him though, and the last thing I wanted to do was judge him unfairly.

"Absolutely, I trust business is going well. I apologise for not being so prompt with my replies to your messages but as you can imagine we've been quite busy here."

"Oh yes I understand. What with the acquisition merger you have at the moment and preparing young Edward I imagine you've had quite a lot to keep you occupied. But business is good, thank goodness, or we would not be here to discuss plans today now would we?"

I'd noticed that he'd referred to Edward twice now as 'young Edward' and while I didn't think he was trying to be too patronizing, I knew he wanted to make his position of superiority in terms of experience and knowledge clear. To be honest, this was quite a risk for Anders, despite having worked well with Carlisle in the past; it was something else to think about going into business with his son, who presumably he only knew by reputation, something that could be a disadvantage to Edward. Most people in the banking industry knew that Carlisle Cullen's son's interests had not been primarily in business in the past, but I was doing everything I could to dispel those opinions and help create a new image for him.

"No we certainly wouldn't." We spent the next ten minutes talking about the work I'd done for James and how I personally thought CGB could expand to include bases in countries such as Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe.

"We'd have to send some people over to Stockholm to really have a conversation about it, but I don't see any immediate problems." It wasn't necessarily a project I'd be interested in headlining myself but I could certainly see the benefits it could bring the company if someone were to take it on. I was just starting to fidget as I wondered where in the hell Edward was when I heard his voice outside the door and relaxed infinitely. Not that I felt uncomfortable with Anders at all, but if Edward kept him waiting any longer I wouldn't blame him for leaving and catching the first flight home.

"My sincerest apologies for my lateness Mr Anders, there was a complex internal affair that couldn't wait. I'm Edward Cullen." I rolled my eyes behind my glasses and wanted to smack the back of his head. I mean it's not like he could have said anything else but he needed to understand that he couldn't just keep people like Sven Anders waiting because Aro was trying to bullshit him or whatever their conversation was about. I decided to have a talk with him sooner rather than later. Luckily Mr Anders didn't show his annoyance too much because he wished me goodbye and promised to arrange a conference call later in the week. I managed to slip out gracefully while Sven used the bathroom but not before Edward cornered me. I must have been giving him a death glare because he held my shoulders in his hands and bent down to my level, something he did when he didn't want me to get too mad. Tough shit.

"Bella I know you're mad but I was with Aro and we had to go over some things -" I cut him off so as to make sure I got my point across.

"I know you were with Aro and that's why I'm mad! Edward don't tell me that if you had had a meeting with anyone else other than him and you were running over time that you would have just carried on. He's not even a partner Edward, he's fucking high up sure but you don't have to do all the shit he says."

"You don't understand, and I promise I will explain it to you, but for now I can't get on his bad side ok Bella, you _have _to trust me." I sighed and held the bridge of my nose between my fingers.

"I _do_ Edward, but you _can't _keep people like Anders waiting, he flew in this morning for this meeting and you show up almost an hour late. How the hell do you think that looks?"

"Ok, ok, I know, I screwed up, I _know _that."

"Good, because you really did. Now what you need to do is show him what you're made of, he's expecting some fumbling rich kid who got everything too easy and I _know_ you're better than that. Take him out to lunch or something, and apologising again probably wouldn't do you any harm. He's a nice guy Edward he's not going to bite."

"Liking the older guys now are we baby? Do I have to tell my Dad to watch out?" So much for me being taken seriously.

"Eww Edward, just, no. The fact that that even crossed you're mind is wrong." I could hear him trying to muffle his laughter and turned to him one last time before I left, but before I could get any words out, he kissed me full on the mouth and I was so grateful that the door had been closed.

"Don't think you're off the hook, you and I are having a chat when you get home." I tried using my best disappointed voice but I doubt it had an impact.

"Yes mistress." The cheeky bastard slapped my bum as I walked out; he was going to be the death of me.

It got to two o'clock and because Edward was still in his meeting with Anders I decided to give Emmett a call to see how Sheila was doing and whether he was ready for me to come and pick her up yet.

"Hi Emmett how are you?"

"Hey Bellie! I'm great, not so sure about Sheila though, she looks kinda beat."

"What the hell Emmett, you were supposed to be looking after her?" I'd been walking down to the cafeteria to grab some lunch when I stopped, thinking that there could actually be something wrong with her.

"I have been Bellie; I made her grilled cheese and everything. She's just all sleepy now, I was only playing ball in the park with her and now she's just lying there with her tongue hanging out. I don't know what's wrong." I laughed to myself because I was glad there wasn't anything wrong with her.

"Emmett, how long did you play ball with her for?"

"Well we went for a run to Hyde Park and got there at about, well, I'd say probably half eleven and then just after one she got all sleepy."

"And you were playing with her _all _that time." Silly Emmett.

"Oh yeah, she loved it at first, your dog can _run_ Bellie, I mean seriously, she's fast."

"Em, you do realise she's probably just tired, she doesn't normally get that much exercise during the week and the most she gets at weekends is if she comes running with me, when I can be bothered to go. She's also not exactly a puppy, she's getting on, and my poor girl's probably knackered."

"Oh, well at least you know she's alright then, and she won't wake up in the middle of the night barking."

"She's never done that before anyway." I laughed at him and he agreed to meet me outside my apartment building in ten minutes, dog in tow.

"You're coming home early, I don't think I've seen you clock off before five before." Jake was especially cheery today, maybe because it wasn't bitingly cold like it had been all the other days of December so far.

"You make me sound like a slave driver, which is probably true but I need to go home and finish this speech for Saturday, I keep getting distracted with other stuff at work."

"You nervous?"

"Sure, but I'm not exactly dreading it, so long as I don't trip over my own feet I think I'll be ok."

"You'll do great Bells, don't sweat it. See you tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah sure, unless something comes up, normal time ok?"

"Sure sure." Jake helped me out the car as we arrived and I was surprised when I heard Emmett's voice greeting me already, he must have been pretty close by when I called him.

"Bellie is that guy your driver or something?" He gave me a big bear hug in greeting but there was something cautious about his voice, he didn't sound the same as he had earlier on the phone.

"Yeah that's Jake, why do you know him?"

"I'm not sure; I swear I've met him before."

"Well he used to drive Edward sometimes, maybe you recognise him from when you guys went out some time." Emmett was quiet, and in my short time of knowing him, that wasn't normal.

"Yeah, maybe." We were silent for a few moments as we made our way up in the lift to my apartment. I didn't even bother suggesting to Emmett that he leave me to go to my apartment by myself, like Edward he had what I called stubborn chivalry and adamantly refused to not help me out if the opportunity presented itself. It was kind of sweet really and I knew that when Emmett found someone she'd be a very lucky woman.

"Emmett you know you said earlier that you gave my dog grilled cheese?"

"Yeah."

"She's a dog not a human Emmett, what were you thinking?" I was laughing quietly to myself; Sheila seemed ok so it obviously hadn't done her too much harm. I let us in to my apartment and booted up my laptop to carry on working on my speech.

"Come on Bellie hear me out, you said she wasn't feeling great, and I don't really know much about dogs so I thought about what I do when _I'm_ not feeling good, so I made her my famous grilled cheese."

"Oh Emmett…"

"What? She ate all of it and wanted more, I didn't hear _any_ complaints!" I was laughing so hard I was clutching my sides, Emmett wasn't being serious anymore and I relaxed as I felt him become more like his usual self.

We'd been sitting having a light lunch when my phone rang. Before I'd been going over my speech with Emmett; surprisingly he'd been able to make some great suggestions, part of his job involved giving presentations to large companies advertising the services that his own company offers. I was fairly certain that I'd finished it, maybe I'd listen to it one more time and think about making any adjustments but it sounded pretty good now, I was so pleased.

"Hello, Isabella Swan." I was surprised whoever was calling me was doing so on my work phone, I'd left my personal one at home and automatically assumed that that was the one that was ringing.

"Bella, it's me Rosalie. I called work and they said you went home, but I didn't know whether you were there yet or not so I thought I'd call this phone. Carlisle gave me the number before." She sounded slightly out of breath so it sounded like she'd been doing a lot of running around. I couldn't imagine what she wanted.

"Um ok, is there anything I can do for you?"

"The _dress_ Bella, I found the dress. It's Armani and in your size and it's _gorgeous_." I was relieved to not have to try on any more dresses.

"No more Bella Barbie then?" This was starting to pique my interest.

"Well no, not until the next function anyway. Anyway I've just finished a shoot and I'm in a cab on the way to yours to drop this thing off to you, don't worry I'll come and help you get dressed on Saturday but I won't be able to see you before then because I have to go to Paris for a shoot." I think she said the whole thing without stopping and it was the most words I'd heard her say at one time.

"Ok Rose, so I'll see you in ten?" As soon as I mentioned her name, Emmett was nudging my leg frantically and I know he was wondering whether I was talking about Rosalie Hale or not. He was in for a surprise.

"Make that five; don't worry about meeting me downstairs, your doorman knows who I am." I'm sure he does. As I said goodbye to Rose, she hung up and putting my phone down I was prepared for the bombardment of questions from Emmett.

"Rosalie…Hale…is…coming…_here_?" Emmett's voice was a few octaves higher than I was sure was healthy for a man and I held his hands in mine and told him to calm down.

"Why are you so worked up about her?"

"Oh please, this is nothing compared to what I had to put up with from Edward. Remember when you told him you loved him for the first time the other week? Your boy was giddy, like a fat kid who got the last bit of cake. I've never actually met her before, so yes, this is a big deal."

"Calm down Emmett, she's not staying long and she's just one woman, she's no different from anyone else."

"Oh no no no no no, Rosalie Hale is _anything_ but ordinary. You have to realise Bella, she is _every _man's, well apart from Edward's apparently, ultimate fantasy. Women don't _get_ more perfect than Rosalie Hale. If you could see her you'd understand, she's, she's just perfect."

"Ok, so maybe she's more attractive than the average woman, I know she's a supermodel, but Emmett, talking to her would be exactly the same as talking to me and you do that just fine." I'd never heard anyone more flustered about anything.

"Bellie, don't take this the wrong way, you're hot and all, but if I did the things to you I wanted to do to _her_ Edward would kill me." Ok, point taken.

"I get it, you like her. But Emmett, she can be kind of moody, and Edward says she's a bit snooty."

"She's obviously never had good sex." I spat out the water I'd been drinking and stared incredulously in his direction.

"And how do you work that out?"

"She'd be skipping down that runway after one night with me Bellie, skipping."

"Whatever you say Em, just don't be disappointed if she's a little _cold_."

"Well I'll just have to warm her up then won't I?" I could hear the smile in his voice and I felt sorry for him, guy had it bad. I shook my head in disbelief and smiled when I heard a knock at the door, I swear I heard Emmett jump a foot in the air.

"Calm _down_ for God's sake Emmett." I went to the door and naturally Sheila followed me, having woken up and excited to see who had come to play with her. She'll be disappointed when she sees Rosalie.

"Hi Rose, thanks so much for bringing this by, do you want to come in?" I took the dress from her and hung it over the cabinet by the front door.

"I shouldn't really, I have a meeting with some designers at four but, oh, Bella, who's that?" I guess Rose had seen Emmett through the door and it sounded like she was already interested, maybe this would be easier than I thought.

"Oh yeah, Rosalie, this is Emmett McCarty, Emmett this is my friend Rosalie Hale." I stepped aside so Rose could come in and greet him. I heard him give her a kiss on each cheek and I almost felt like I was interrupting something, not being able to see their faces and body language left a lot of mystery for me as to what they thought of each other.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Rosie; you're even more beautiful than in your pictures."

"It's Rosalie actually, and that's impossible, the editors and photographers at Vogue are the best in the world, so everything you see in those pictures are just my best assets amplified."

"They may be the best, but if they don't see that the assets they've got in front of them are _already_ the best, then they're really not all that are they Rosie?" They seemed to be having a silent conversation for a few minutes and then all of a sudden, as if someone pressed 'play', Rose said it was time to leave, promising she'd come by at six on Saturday and wished Emmett and I a hurried goodbye as she left.

I was still standing at the door as Emmett grabbed his coat and shoes ready to go; apparently he had plans with friends tonight.

"Ok, did I miss something? What happened to you being all nervous not five minutes ago?"

"I'm a smooth criminal Bellie, you can't let a woman like _that_ know that you're nervous, she'd have eaten me alive." I could just tell he had a smug look on his face.

"Well she seemed to kind of like you, I couldn't really tell."

"Oh she wanted me, bad. Who could resist the McCarty charm?"

"You only had about two minutes with her."

"It's a start Bellie, not much, but it's a start." I shook my head in disbelief, some things I'd never understand.

After Emmett left I cleaned up a bit and called the nursing home to see how Charlie was getting on. I'd visited him last weekend and while he certainly wasn't getting any better, as I knew he wouldn't be, he didn't seem to be deteriorating too rapidly either. I hated knowing that my father probably didn't have too much time left and the nurses had told me that he probably has six months at best, and while this should have shocked and scared me, it didn't. Charlie had been sick for a long, long time and as odd and emotionless as it sounded, I'd had a while to get used to the fact that I might not have much time left with him.

He and I were close, but not so much so that I didn't think I'd be able to function without him. Ironically losing my sight had turned me into an incredibly independent person, and sometimes, because of what I'd had to deal with when I was sixteen and lost my Mum and Phil, I was a bit detached from things to do with the family when they started to get a bit too serious. I tried to be there as much as I could for Charlie, but what with my demanding job and now Edward, although he wasn't so much a new addition to my life, I found myself worrying less frequently about Charlie. Selfishly before I think I worried about him more because I knew that if he died, then I wouldn't have anyone to look after me. Not that Edward could ever replace Charlie's role in my life, after all he was still my Dad. I tried not to think about it too much too often, there was nothing I could do to help him now apart from be there for him, even if he didn't know I was his daughter.

I sat for the rest of the afternoon occasionally going over my speech, as well as answering a few emails; there was one from Angela expressing how sorry she was about not being able to come in today but promising she'd call me in the morning if she was feeling better, other than that I sat listening to Rachmaninov and a mixture of several compositions Edward had recorded. I don't think he knew that I knew about this CD but Esme had given it to me when we'd last been over to dinner, saying that if Edward refused to play then at least I could hear what he could do.

I must have fallen asleep because instead of hearing the piano's dulcet tones I was woken up by Edward coming in and dropping his briefcase on the kitchen counter. I wanted to get up and throw my arms around him because I hadn't been with him much today but then I remembered I was supposed to be mad at him.

With good reason.

"Hey baby sorry I'm so late. Anders didn't leave until five."

"Well what time is it now?" I heard him come towards me and smiled to myself as he came over and kissed my forehead.

"Half six, did you have a good sleep?" Shit, it was later than I thought.

"Yeah, I didn't _mean_ to fall asleep though. I wanted to be awake for when you came home; I didn't think you'd be this late though." Truthfully I was glad he'd come home late, it meant that things had gone well, if they hadn't, he'd have come home sooner and in a bad mood at that.

"Well my lunch with Anders carried on into the afternoon a bit and then we were in my office discussing the possibilities you'd brought up and the time kinda flew."

"Sounds like it went well then, if you guys had a lot to talk about."

"Yeah it did, better than I thought it would actually, seeing as I wasn't exactly punctual, which I did apologise for again by the way."

"We need to talk about that." I was standing my ground on this, I wanted answers.

"Not now baby, tomorrow please. I'm tired and it's kind of complicated." I felt his face come towards me and I knew he wanted to kiss me so I turned my head to the side offering him my cheek instead of my lips. He was trying to distract me and it wasn't going to work.

"What the fuck Bella?"

"No Edward, not tomorrow or 'another day', we need to talk about this, you need to give me some answers." I sat up and went to go to the bedroom to get changed into something a little more comfortable. I heard him following me.

"It's not that big a deal, you're making this out to be more than it actually is."

"Like hell I am. I noticed there was something off about the way you are around Aro from the very first day I met you. I don't know what it is but you behave differently around him, I'm blind and I can see it perfectly." I was changing my clothes between words and thankfully Edward passed me my flannel pyjama trousers that I slept in and I could hear him getting changed as well. We always did this when we came home from work; we got changed into our pyjamas and even though we wouldn't be going to bed for several hours, it helped relax us and get us out of our 'work' mode.

"You should know that I'm not proud of any of what I'm about to tell you, and that no-one other than Aro and I actually knows the whole truth any of it."

"Edward you _know_ you can tell me _anything_. I'll still love you just as much; nothing is going to change that." I grasped his hand in mine and instantly felt bad for giving him a hard time earlier; clearly this was something he was struggling with. I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back on the bed, I could feel the bed behind his knees we were so close together and he slumped down in front of me. I cradled his head in my hands and slowly and gently scratched my nails along his scalp.

"I love you Edward, always. Open up to me sweetheart." We stayed like this for a few moments, I rubbed his head gently a he rubbed his hands up and down my sides, a sign of comfort rather than being a sexual gesture.

"I first met Aro Volturi two years ago. I was in New York attending a post grad business conference, having completed my economics degree at Dartmouth, and he was the guest speaker. You have to understand Bella, I was a different person back then, it wasn't so many years ago but I've changed a lot since." I gestured for him to continue and he scooted back on the bed along me to rest my head on his chest as we lay down together. His hand rested in my hair now and I felt comforted by it, I knew I wasn't necessarily like what I was going to hear but I couldn't change the past.

"I was in awe of him. The way he spoke about his work, and aside from what I know about him now, he had been very successful, so I looked up to him a lot. In a way I think I idolized him, he made the industry sound so glamorous, and that the work that we would be doing was so important. Even though I knew at the time that my position at CGB was a sure thing I still wanted to absorb everything he had to tell me.

"I met Aro at a time when I wasn't having much to do with my parents, but especially my father. I think I felt that he thought that I wasn't good enough, which was why he was handing everything to me so easily. I couldn't see any of the fire and passion in him that I saw in Aro. I know now that what I thought was a passionate approach to business was really a vindictive personality and a cunning, sly way of thinking.

"I spoke to him after the conference and he told me that he'd read some of the economics papers I'd written, he continuously stroked my ego and at the time I couldn't help but let it go to my head. He went on and on about how I'd do so well at CGB and that I could bring the company forward so much more than my father ever could. I remember liking that part a lot, everyone always spoke to me about how great a negotiator and leader my father is, and that was the last thing I wanted to be hearing. I wanted them to be shouting my praises instead of my father's.

"Along with all the different people Aro introduced me to at functions and meetings; he took me to parties and celebrations of the rich and famous, I didn't quite have the right connections to get there on my own, although my name was more than recognisable enough to others. Generally they were pretty tame, I mean it wasn't as if I hadn't seen and been around drugs before, but I noticed that they were getting wilder and wilder the more we went to. The 'me' back then didn't mind though, it was all a display of money and success and I was eating it all up. I slept with a lot of women back then and I didn't exactly intend to maintain a relationship with any of them. Usually I didn't see them again after that one night, some lasted longer but the majority didn't." I stiffened as he started talking about women. I kept up a continuous chant in my head, reminding myself that he loved me and only me.

_He loves you, he loves you, he loves you, he loves you. _

I didn't realise that I'd fisted his shirt in my hand until he was trying to ply my fingers free. He kissed the top of my head and rubbed my back.

"Do you want me to carry on?" I nodded wordlessly and cuddled closer to him.

"I was discovering that just by being Edward Cullen, I could get pretty much whatever I wanted, girls, cars, drugs, which I wasn't interested in using at the time but people knew I had easy access to them, people who didn't want to get caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Through Aro I began to feel that the world was mine for the taking, I was power hungry and yet I had no idea what I was landing myself into. That lifestyle lasted for the better part of my post grad business degree and it's mainly because of those days that I have the reputation I do now.

"One week Aro decided to take a group of us to Rome, not that we couldn't afford it, but it was a prize for various tests that we'd had to do which I passed with flying colours and at the top of my class. His wife Sepulcia, who I'm sure you've met, was visiting her family in Tuscany while we stayed in Rome. She either knew nothing of her husband's adulterous activities or decided to ignore them; I expect it was the latter. One night he took us to an exclusive club just outside the city, I recognised a few faces from other parties and clubs but as soon as I walked in there I knew something wasn't quite right. We'd been to some bondage type clubs before because Aro and a few of the other guys seemed to be interested in that but this was taking it to a whole new level." I looked up at him as he said that last part and couldn't help but ask him my next question.

"You mentioned the bondage clubs. Did you ever, or have you ever…?" I think I was almost afraid to hear his answer, because if that sort of thing really got him going, then I'd feel completely inadequate, knowing that was something I'd never feel comfortable doing.

"Oh Bella, baby, no. When I say we went to them, well the other guys did but I never got _involved_ with any of those girls. That whole scene really isn't my thing, and while I admit I thought most of the girls there were amazingly hot at the time, I never felt comfortable with the whole dominance and submission and tying each other up thing, some people say it's just hard, rough sex but from what I've seen, it's so much more and definitely not what I want. Honestly." I knew he was telling me the truth, but because of how he clearly hadn't finished his story yet, I was slightly worried as to where this would lead.

"Anyway I knew this place in Rome was different because while I know there are some women who get off on the idea and reality of being completely submissive to a man, it's always seemed strange to me but if they were both consenting to it I saw no problem, that wasn't the case here. I could see pretty much straight away that these weren't women who were being forced around on their hands and knees, they were girls. I'd have to say the oldest was at most seventeen and I don't even want to _think_ about how young the youngest could have been." He stopped for a minute seeming to struggle with what to say next and I rubbed my hand over his chest, gesturing for him to carry on, that it was ok, that I'd be listening. He took a deep breath and carried on.

"I wanted to leave partly because I felt uncomfortable there and because I'd had a headache all day which I'd take some pain medication for, which was also why I wasn't drinking. A friend of mine had had a bad experience in the past mixing pain killers and alcohol so I definitely wasn't going to be mixing them that night. Aro and the others laughed off my worries, insisting I stay and because I didn't want to look like the weak link, I did. The further we went into the club and the various rooms I realised that what was going on around me couldn't be legal. Men were laughing at these girls being dragged around the floor crying, screaming in pain as they were whipped and 'punished' for being 'bad'. I tried to get Aro's attention to tell him that I was leaving, the whole thing was making me sick and my head was starting to feel hazy.

"All he did was hand me a glass of water, promising that it would get better. The last thing I remember is walking into a room where I saw a young girl being held up by ropes digging into her skin, she was screaming and men were taking turns in whipping her and _exploiting_ her sexually." He took a bug gulp after he finished and he almost sounded out of breath. I was sickened to my core, not by him but by what Aro had obviously been enjoying and wanted to get Edward involved in.

"Edward…what happened after?" I was almost scared because while what he'd told me was horrible, I feared that the worst was yet to come.

"The next morning I woke up in my hotel room in Rome. I have absolutely no memory of getting back there, or what happened after I walked into that room. I was disgusted with myself for staying so long in the first place, but I put it down to wanting to impress Aro and not let people think I was naïve and weak. It's safe to say that my opinion of Aro changed after that night, I remember his face and how _turned on _ he was by the sight of those poor girls, I had a feeling that that wasn't the first time he'd been to that kind of place. I tried calling him to see what had happened, I was positive I'd been drugged and I was scared out of my mind that something could have happened that I would have had no control over. I couldn't reach him, I tried for weeks calling him and apparently the hotel we were staying in had no recollection of him being there. I was so confused and when it was announced that I would be taking my fathers position over the summer, I'd tried my best to forget all about it.

"I couldn't go to the police, when I was absolutely certain that what had been going on in that _dungeon_ was completely illegal. I couldn't call my father to contact Aro, he'd want to know why and he'd want to know the whole story. I thought I'd escaped my past discretions and I was confident that because Aro didn't want to contact me, I'd never have to deal with any of it. But I was wrong.

"The first day I moved into my office at CGB there was an envelope waiting on my desk. It had been a couple of months since I'd seen or heard _anything_ from Aro so the last person I expected it to be from was him. Inside there were pictures from that night. I have no idea who took them, but it was no amateur. They knew what they were looking for and made it look as if I was more involved at that club than I ever was in reality."

"Edward, is he _blackmailing_ you?" He didn't need to answer; we both knew what stance Aro would take with photos like that in his possession.

"I have absolutely no memory of them. They show me with a few of the girls, _engaging_ in some of activity with them, of the violent variety -"

"Oh my God, Edward what did you -?"

"No, no, no Bella you have to understand, I don't know how they did it, how they got me there, but I _swear_ to you I was not consciously aware of being near _any_ of them. The photos Aro has make it look like I was at the centre of the group; sure I look high as a kite but so were most of the guys there. I _promise_ you, I swear on my life that they are a fabrication of the truth, completely, Bella you _have to believe me_." I was silent again for a few minutes; I couldn't believe all of this. How could someone be as deranged and _sick_ in the head as to want to do this to Edward?

"What did you do with the photos?"

"I destroyed them. But no doubt Aro has copies somewhere, and I don't even know if he showed me all the ones he has. He came into my office as I was looking at them; he timed it perfectly so he'd be able to talk to me afterwards."

"What is it he wants?"

"He wants me to make him a member of the board. When I was getting to know him before he was always talking about how we'd be able to help each other out when I joined CGB, but now I know he was only referring to _me_ helping _him _out. He's been global director of acquisitions for ten years now and my father never made him an Executive Board Member which is what he wants. Carlisle obviously never trusted him that much. I don't have the authority to make him part of the board yet but after the Benefit and the New Year with the official announcement of my status as CEO then that's what he wants me to do."

"And he's been keeping his eye on you all this time?"

"Every conversation we have he brings up the fact that I'm in his debt, and that I shouldn't do anything to upset him. That's why I couldn't leave the meeting. He was going on and on about some of his team and the project he was working on, knowing that every minute he was carrying on he was making me late for Anders."

"I knew there was something wrong with him but I had no idea how _sick_ he was."

"It's worse because he's a _powerful_ sick man. He has those photos and I can't afford for him to do anything with them. It would ruin the Cullen name and the legacy my father has built. Despite our differences I can't do that. I don't know _what_ to do."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I thought you'd run away screaming and I was so afraid of telling you anything that would change your mind about me. I mean I didn't do any of those things that you can see in those photos but I was still _there_ and if I'd been strong enough I could have left and never gotten into this mess." His voice was quieter now and I could tell that this whole confession had exhausted him.

"Bella, say something, _please_." I shifted on the bed so I could lie face to face with him. I reached my hand to stroke his cheek and he nuzzled his face into my hand, pressing a kiss to the centre of my palm. He sounded desperate and I hated that.

"Oh _Edward_, I'm grateful you told me but I'm not going to run away, and you're not going to frighten me off. This has to _stop_. You can't let him _bully_ you like this."

"I know but, baby I don't have a choice."

"Sweetheart you _always_ have a choice; no-one can take that away from you." Inside I was seething but outwardly I displayed a calm I didn't even know I had.

"We're gonna fix this, just like anything else. I don't care what we have to do, but this is going to stop." I barely got my words out before he kissed the hell out of me and rolled us over so I was on my back and he was on top of me.

"I love you Bella, more than anything. I'll _always_ love you."

"As I will always love you." He bent down pressing a kiss to my lips and whispered softly in my ear.

"Where would I be without you baby?"

"Pretty fucking stuck sweetheart."

**And…breathe. ****Pumping out 9000 words was no easy feat let me tell you, I know the superwomen writers of FF can do this in their sleep, but alas, I am only one mortal woman. **

**I'm sorry if the stuff with Edward and Aro was too graphic, but I tried to get the idea across without being distasteful.**

**I hope you liked it, and because I'm crazy, I'm starting to work on the benefit chapter right now! As you are reading this, I am probably writing fluffy, mushy BxE with dancing and speeches and champagne etc…**

**I'd also like to mention that we do get to meet a certain southern gentleman in the next chapter which I know a lot of you have been waiting for. I for one am very excited.**

**I hope you liked Emmett and Rosalie and everything that was in this monster. **

**Let me know if it was good or bad or amazing or terrible. I will try my very very very best to update soon. **

**Big hugs and kisses to every single one of you that reads this whether you like it or not. **

**Happy Sunny Wednesday (in London anyway),**

**Aurora**


	26. The Benefit of Candid Conversation

**Sorry for the delay folks. I don't usually suggest songs to go with chapters but if you want to listen to 'Sky' by Joshua Radin it's just beautiful, the lyrics and his voice are perfect.**

**To Arya1996, thank you for your reviews, I can't reply to them but I just wanted to let you know that I read and appreciated them.**

**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright April 2011.**

_Last time…_

"_We're gonna fix this, just like anything else. I don't care what we have to do, but this is going to stop." I barely got my words out before he kissed the hell out of me and rolled us over so I was on my back and he was on top of me. _

"_I love you Bella, more than anything. I'll always love you."_

"_As I will always love you." He bent down pressing a kiss to my lips and whispered softly in my ear._

"_Where would I be without you baby?"_

"_Pretty fucking stuck sweetheart."_

**Chapter 26 ****– The Benefit of Candid Conversation**

"How the hell am I going to be able to breathe in this thing?" I pressed my hands to my waist, feeling how much smaller it felt and tried, unsuccessfully to take a deep breath. How the hell was I supposed to last the night in this thing?

"Quit whining, you'll get used to it." I winced when she pulled the laces tighter and slapped my hand out to hit her, hoping I wouldn't be too off target. The silence indicated that I had in fact missed. What a shame.

"I don't _want _to get used to it. I'd rather get through tonight without fainting. Just loosen it a bit." I tried nudging her with my elbow to get her to comply.

"What's the magic word?"

"I'm your _employer_, I don't need magic words. Loosen it." I was nervous about tonight and I was getting a bit moody, plus I hadn't been with Edward all day, we'd only had breakfast together and that was it. I missed him.

"Just because you want to see Edward, don't take it out on me." Thankfully she loosened the laces around my back a little and I instantly felt better.

"Thanks Rose, I'm sorry, but I still don't understand why he's not allowed to see me before tonight. It's not like we're getting married -"

"- yet. Bella, he's never seen you all dressed up like you will be tonight, there's nothing wrong with a little mystery and suspense." Well _someone_ was in a good mood tonight, wonder why.

"Edward knows what I look like, he's seen - well _all _of me actually so I doubt anything I wear tonight will be a surprise."

"Oh thank _God_! Does this mean that you two have finally done more than sneak a kiss and a grope behind the bleachers?"

"Ugh I _hate _that word, 'grope'. It's so impersonal. And yeah, I guess you could say that." I don't know if I felt entirely comfortable talking to her about all of this, but from the sounds of it she had a _lot_ more experience than I did, which wasn't exactly hard, so it might be good to get her advice on some things.

"How far Swan? Did your favourite batter hit a home run yet?" Why on earth did she sound so _dirty_ talking about baseball?

"What's baseball got to do with mine and Edward's _personal_ activities?" Now I was confused.

"Nothing it's just a saying. Let me spell it out for you. Have you had sex with Edward yet?" She spoke to me like I was mentally challenged and I tried to, unsuccessfully, elbow her in the ribs.

"No, I mean not yet. It's not that I haven't _thought_ about it. I just, for me it's, it's too soon."

"Yeah because moving in together is the first step all new couples think about taking _before _sex."

"Will you _stop_? _Why_ do you have such a problem with Edward living here?" She'd made her disagreement with it more than clear but I didn't get why she had to have _such_ a problem with it.

"Oh I don't know, because you've only been together for about a month! How in the hell is that logical? What's _wrong_ with you?" While I wasn't experienced in relationships at all, it was painfully obvious to me that she's never had the kind of connection that I'd had with Edward, I didn't think she'd ever been in love.

"Rosalie, what is so wrong about two people who love each other wanting to spend all their time together? I know being with Edward is _right_, it's complicated and annoying as fuck because we work together and we can't be as public about it as we'd both like, but there is _nothing _wrong about us and what we have." I didn't bother looking towards her as I spoke; I just let my eyes fall to the floor behind my glasses and began to run them absentmindedly.

"You're right. I'm, well I shouldn't have said that. You two are just so _intense _together, but you wouldn't make sense with anyone else so I guess I know what you mean." I noticed that she didn't actually _apologize_ but her voice was soft and contemplative and it was a tone I'd never heard her use before. I decided to discontinue the subject before we both became uncomfortable.

"I think _physically_ he's waiting for some kind of sign from me, he's very aware about not pushing me."

"That's a good thing though right? That he's not pressuring you?"

"Oh definitely, I don't know what I'd do if he didn't let me take things about my own pace, no matter how slow it is. But sometimes, I mean, I _know_ he's got a hell of a lot of experience with women, I just wish he'd push me a little, it feels like he's waiting for me to push him into the corner to have my wicked way with him." She guided me into the chair by my dresser and began to sort through all the hair and make-up products I knew she'd brought with her.

"Bella, honestly? He probably is. There's no doubt in my mind that Edward is fucking _petrified_ of pushing you too far. No offence, but I don't think he's ever been in the position where a woman isn't willing to get on her back after the first night. It's obvious he wants you, like _really_ obvious, so you have nothing to worry about there. Have you guys actually talked about this stuff?" I liked the way this was going now, I had a feeling she would really be able to help me out with this.

"Not really, we both agreed to go slow. Well actually, he agreed to go slow with me. I know what you mean though, he wants me to set my own pace, but I don't think he has any idea how intimidating that is. I have no clue what I'm doing with any of this." I gesticulated around wildly with my hands.

"Hey, while I'm trying to sort out your hair, could you _not_ flap your hands around like that?" When I was nervous I tended to talk more with my hands than my mouth, I decided sitting on them would probably be the best course of action here.

"Sure, sorry."

"That's ok, I mean I probably have to think back about ten years to remember how you're feeling but we can work with that." I rolled my eyes internally, thanks for that Rose.

"So we've established that you both want each other, forget about all the love and rainbows and bunny shit for a second, when it comes down to it, you want to ride that piece of man meat till there's no tomorrow?" She was so crude.

"Yes, eventually." Hopefully her bluntness will make for better advice.

"Right, well I guess by now you've played with his cock enough to keep his balls from dropping off. And I can just tell that he's enjoyed exploring your previously unchartered _area_. Has he gone down on you yet?" I could tell she was trying to tone it down as much as she could, I had a feeling she could do a _lot _worse, but I was still shocked when she said that.

"_No_. I mean, no, he hasn't done _that_." Wow, that came out a lot more frustrated than I meant it to.

"Oh but you _want _him to, excellent. That's probably what he's waiting for."

"Do you really think he _wants_ to? I mean isn't that a little, I don't know, weird." I was mildly interested to see where she was going with this; it was _definitely _a topic where I could so with some advice.

"Isn't there a part of you that wants to do that to Edward?"

I froze as soon as she finished speaking. _Had _I thought about it? Of course I had. I wasn't a total recluse growing up; all the girls at my school had talked about how their boyfriends loved it when they did that. Touching him _like that_ admittedly satisfied both of us, I _loved_ being able to make him come apart like that, no pun intended. I found that I got used to pleasuring Edward with my hands fairly quickly, I actually really enjoyed it, and it wasn't as scary as I'd feared. So maybe using my mouth wouldn't be as bad either. Or so I hoped.

"Yes there is, but I'm nervous, what if I get it totally wrong. I know he loves me but what if I embarrass myself completely."

"You're going to have your mouth on his cock Bella, he's going to think he's won the lottery, found a cure for cancer and gone to heaven all at the same time. I doubt he's tried to hint to you to do that, but trust me, he will be ecstatic if you do."

"I still want it to be good for him; I don't ever want to disappoint him." I shut my eyes as she worked my hair through with a brush carefully, it was surprisingly soothing and I waited as she thought about her next words.

"You won't, and I know you want my advice on this but when you get to that stage, you'll feel so much happier just doing what feels natural with him. If I gave you a step by step guide for it, you'd be constantly worrying that you missed something out, that you didn't do enough or too much of something. Listen, when I was younger, all I did was read those teen girl magazines and all the advice I could about pleasing your man, so when I actually went to do it, I was scared out of my mind that I wouldn't be giving him the best textbook case of sucking cock out there.

Bella, he loves you, so the fact that you even want to go there and do that will mean more to him than just doing it out of obligation. The only advice I can give you is to enjoy it, he'll get so much more out of it if you do."

I felt lighter after having listened to her, and while my plan was for Rosalie to give me a long list of things that would and wouldn't work, I understood why she didn't want to do that. When she was talking about her experiences as a teenager it made me wonder just how fast she'd had to grow up, and whether she'd been coerced into doing any of it. I didn't really want to ask her that though, it was too personal, despite the conversation we'd had already.

Funnily enough my insecurities about this didn't include the fact that I knew a fair few other women would have taken the opportunity to do that to him before. I was under no illusion that he wouldn't be a stranger to that particular act as I would be. It didn't worry me because at the end of the day, women had thrown themselves at him, had been doing so for years and were without a doubt a lot more sexually _educated_ than I was, but he was living with _me_. If that were really all that mattered to him, then he'd be with _them_ and not _me_. He gave me something no other man ever could or would, and I knew it was the same for him.

Don't get me wrong, there were certainly times when I felt I should do more for Edward, despite my hesitancy and inexperience, but it was only because I _wanted_ to, not because in theory it was something I should have done by now. I was becoming more and more aware that my relationship with Edward wasn't a classic example out of a _textbook_ and the way we did things may not be conventional or perfect for other people, but it suited us. That was all that mattered to me.

"But who says he would want to, I don't know, _return the favour_?" I cringed at my own words; I really didn't have a clue.

"Edward _loves _you and some people think that doing _that_ is even more personal than sex. Think about it from his point of view, you'd be letting him pleasure you in one of the most intimate ways, something no-one has done before. I'd say he'd be more than willing."

"Well, he has hinted that he wants to, but he never actually _does_." Unfortunately.

"Like I said, he's waiting for _you _to show him what you want. Take the lead Bella, he's not a mind reader, sometimes you have to show men what you want. Even the best ones can be shit at taking a hint."

"Thanks Rose, I'm really grateful for your advice, I don't know if I could have talked to anyone else about this stuff." I regretted never having this conversation with Renee, perhaps not in as much detail as the one Rose and I had had but it would have been nice for a little preparation, I guess that was partially my fault, I should have made more of the time I _did_ have her with me.

"Not as grateful as Edward's going to be when you two finally get down to _business._" I laughed because Rosalie's jokes were just as bad and crude as Emmett's. I smiled knowing they'd make a good couple, one day.

"So what are you doing with my hair for tonight?" I sat up straighter and looked around towards her.

"Doing, Bella, I've _done _it. You are _so _unobservant. Hold your breath" She says to the _blind _woman.

"Wha -" I managed to snap my mouth shut _just_ before the awful smell of hair spray hit me full force. I felt sorry for any of the hairs on my head that would dare fall out of place, now it seemed that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

"There. Looks even better than I thought it would." She sounded incredibly satisfied with herself and I was glad that _she _at least knew what she was doing.

"Uh, just out of interest. What have you done with my hair?"

"Well, you told me before that you'd never been able to curl properly so I assume that means that Edward's never seen it done properly on you. It's just an exaggeration of your natural hair really, loose, even curls pulled to one side with a wave at the end. Don't worry, it looks good."

Obviously I had no idea what she really meant I looked like with all that but if Rosalie Hale thought my hair looked good then who was I to argue?

"And now, make up! God I have been _dying _to do this since I first met you."

Please let it be over soon.

"Are you nervous?"

"No."

"Liar."

"Fine, maybe a little bit."

"Bullshit."

"Rosalie, _cut it out._"

"Well then don't argue with me when I'm right."

"Fine, I'm nervous, happy now? There are about a dozen things that could go wrong and last time I was here, I embarrassed myself." I ran my hands down my dress to calm myself and enjoyed the feel of the silk under my fingers.

"That was years ago, look at you now, think about how much you've changed since then. You can do this. Now suck it up and stop your whining." I'm glad she'd said that, I needed bitch mode Rosalie to get me through the doors tonight.

We walked in the smells and noise of the room hit me at exactly the same time. It was quite overwhelming, and if I could have seen the grandeur of the place, I was sure I would have been more so. I wasn't exactly sure how many people were attending tonight, but I knew the number was fairly big, perhaps just over a couple of hundred, I don't know. No matter how many there were, I only cared about being with a few of them, namely my boyfriend who I hadn't heard from _all day_. It wasn't fair, he called our phone at home to check that we were going to be arriving on time and Rose wouldn't let me talk to him, evil bitch. But she had gotten me ready for this thing so I couldn't really be mad at her. She'd also gotten me a new pair of glasses to wear for tonight, tinted of course.

Apparently my ordinary ones weren't sleek enough for tonight so she'd taken the liberty of ordering me a much slimmer pair that wrapped around my face comfortably, I could barely feel them really. I just hoped I didn't look like I was trying to imitate a Special Forces agent or some shit. That would be embarrassing.

Surprisingly the one thing I was completely happy with was my outfit. Even though my shoes were much higher than I'd ever attempted to wear before, they were really comfortable. I'd doubted I'd be able to last more than five seconds in them but I was glad to have been proven wrong so far. My dress was floor length and a deep blue colour, it cut fairly low down my chest but according to Rose, due to the cut of the corset I was wearing it didn't look inappropriate at all. I really, _really_ didn't want to look ridiculous here.

Before I'd had time to ask Rose if there was anyone familiar looking around I was enveloped in a hug by a woman who I was pretty sure was Esme.

"Oh Bella sweetheart I'm so glad you're here. You look absolutely stunning, doesn't she Carlisle?" I felt like a little bit of an exhibit standing here for people to look at me but I guess that would be happening for most of the night so I might as well get used to it. Plus, Esme and Carlisle I could handle.

"She'll do." He laughed as came forward to hug me and I wrapped my arms around his torso as he squeezed me gently. I giggled when Esme reprimanded him vocally and I knew that if we were anywhere but here she would have smacked him on the shoulder by now.

"_Ignore_ my husband Bella. Now where's the other _polite_ Cullen got to? Oh, here he is, Edward, look who's just arrived?" I swear I felt him coming towards me before Esme alerted me to his presence, my body hummed in anticipation and I tried the best I could to keep it together. It didn't help that I hadn't had time to compose myself.

I really hope he likes what he sees.

"Edward I was just saying how beautiful Bella look in her dress, don't you agree?" I could tell she was smiling from her voice but there was also something underneath it as well. Oh God, did she _suspect_ anything? We must have been more obvious than we thought.

"Absolutely, she looks breathtaking." His voice was like velvet, wrapping itself around me. Oh no, no, now was _not_ the time to be charming Edward! Not when I can't jump you in front of your _parents!_

Just when I thought I might have a chance at maintaining my composure I felt his warm hand slowly take mine as he stepped forward to me. I had to stifle a gasp when I felt him bring my hand up to his mouth and softly brush my lips over his knuckles.

"Hello Bella." Fucking hell! I wanted to simultaneously scream at him for being so bloody obvious but at the same time I wanted to say to hell with waiting and get him to make love to me on the next available surface. I felt the whisper of his breath as it caressed my hand and sent shivers all the way up my arm and down to the pit of my stomach. How does he _do_ that? I had a feeling tonight was only the beginning of this torment and I prayed that he would come to his senses sooner rather than later, I didn't know how much more of this I could take. I was literally _aching_ for him.

I tried my best not to clench my other hand into a fist as he pressed a soft, barely there kiss to my hand which he squeezed gently before returning to my side. Unfortunately I couldn't stop my toes from curling inside my shoes. What was he doing to me?

"E-Edward." I gave him a polite nod in return and couldn't believe how flustered I'd gotten. With any luck I wasn't blushing.

"Oh Edward behave, look, you've made her blush!" Thanks Esme. I just knew her infuriating son was smirking and I wanted to kiss it right off.

I startled when Rosalie reminded me of her presence, I'd completely forgotten she was there.

"Bella, I've just seen one of my old editors, you wouldn't mind if I went and said hello would you?" No! Don't leave me with Toe Curler Cullen!

"Well, actually -"

"You must be Rosalie Hale, we've spoken on the phone, and it's so nice to meet you in person. My name's Esme and this is my husband Carlisle. I presume you know Edward."

"Oh yes we've met. It's a pleasure to meet you and your husband Mrs Cullen."

"Oh none of that call me Esme. Now were you going to talk to Sharon Isaacs? She and I met when Carlisle first took me to Chicago." The conversation faded as they walked away from us and I realised that even though we were in a room full of people, I was somewhat alone with Edward.

She's meant to be on _my_ side. Traitor.

Edward put his hand on the small of my back and leaned in to talk to me. To anyone else it would have looked like it was just facilitating the blind woman and being polite, but I knew his intentions weren't honourable.

"You look delicious tonight love, do you think they would mind if I took you home all for myself?" His voice was husky and I was glad we were at least partly alone, if anyone else heard that tone that would be suspicious.

Hell, from the way he's been acting so far I wouldn't be surprised if they already were.

"Why don't you just piss on my leg? I think _that_ would be more subtle." I didn't really mean it to come out so harshly but didn't he even want to _try_ and be careful?

"Miss Swan could I have a word outside, I'd like to clarify something that came up in one of the team's reports today?" He'd raised his voice for the benefit of others, and as far as they knew, we were going outside to discuss a work issue. I knew better.

We walked together slowly outside, my hand on Edward's arm even though I had my white stick with me. It wouldn't do me any harm to have an extra point of balance.

The gardens to this particular hotel were meant to be beautiful and it was a shame I couldn't appreciate it. I knew they lit them all up at night but I hope Edward was taking me somewhere where we would at least be somewhat concealed. Not that he seemed to be too worried about hiding tonight.

"Are you mad at me?" I felt soft ferns behind my back and whispered my thanks to Edward when he slipped his dinner jacket over my shoulders to keep me warm and to protect my bare skin from the trees.

"Yes but Edward, you know I can't help how I react to you. That was unfair, and especially because it was in front of Esme and Carlisle." He pulled me closer to him and ran his nose along my hairline, breathing in deeply.

"Mmmmm you smell so _good_. Are you still mad at me baby?" His hands ran up the length of my arms and I shivered when they rested underneath his jacket on the exposed skin of my shoulders and collarbone. His fingers danced gently over my skin giving me goose bumps.

"Yes, but stop trying to distract me. Stupid Toe Curler Cullen." I tried to move away from him but his hands tightened on my shoulders, keeping me from going anywhere.

"Whoa, wait, what's that? Did you just call me _Toe Curler Cullen_?" He had disbelief in his voice but he definitely sounded interested.

"It makes sense, you made my toes curl earlier with your little stunt and your last name is Cullen."

"I like it; it's a hell of a lot better than Junior." He started kissing down my neck and I remembered that I was actually supposed to be mad at him. Stupid toe curler.

"You're doing it again, stop."

"Why? Is it working?" His hands worked themselves under the jacket down my sides to rest on my waist. He squeezed his hands together as he pulled me ever closer to him. What was I going to _do_ with him?

"_Edward._" I sighed his name as he ran his lips down from my temple to my jaw, pausing briefly to lick my ear lobe. My God what has gotten into him?

"Am I forgiven?" His lips continued their path down my face, along my jaw, to the corner of my mouth, stopping there. In the meantime his hands had slowly moved south to my hips and two of the fingers on his right hand were grazing over my bottom. I knew the moment he realised I was wearing a thong because his fingers paused and he moaned quietly before continuing his exploration.

"Umm." I cursed myself for my lack of articulation and gasped when he pressed himself against me so I could feel how hard he was against me. The added height my heels had given me meant that ordinarily where he would have been pressed against my stomach, I could feel him, _right there_ through his trousers and my dress. And boy was he ever hard. I guess he must have liked my dress after all.

"I'm sorry love, I couldn't help myself, and you just looked so -"

The tone of his voice when he spoke his candid apology was what set me off. Who was I kidding, I was mad at my boyfriend for _wanting_ me, fuck that. I reached my hand into his hair and pulled his face to mine, smashing my lips against his. I don't think I'd ever kissed him like this before, I was aroused and hungry for _him_ and I felt stupid for being mad at him. Hell, didn't I feel _exactly_ the same way? Of course I did.

I took his bottom lip in between mine and sucked on it, hard. Where I was usually gentle and tentative, I was desperate and relentless. I revelled in his taste and groaned in satisfaction when just after a moment, he was kissing me back just as passionately, his arms holding me to him closer than before, almost enough to fuse our bodies together. I titled my head to give us a better position before I shoved my tongue in his mouth, something I'd never really done before. He was probably shocked but he didn't show it as he let me dominate the kiss, I explored his mouth and his tongue with an enthusiasm I didn't know I had. I moaned into his mouth as the tip of his tongue slid along the side of mine. The noises he was making were some of my favourite and I vowed never to forget them. He tasted so good, like champagne and mint and _Edward_. How could he be so sexy?

We both reluctantly pulled away for air, breathless and panting like we'd just run a marathon.

"Wow." He sounded awestruck and I felt exactly the same.

"Yeah."

"I really wish we could just go home and -"

"I know me too. _Believe me. _But if you didn't already arouse suspicion with the way you greeted me earlier then they'll know something's going on if we just leave together. Plus Carlisle asked me to do this, I can't back out now."

"Ok, so, I take it you're not mad at me anymore, which is a shame because you react _really_ _well_ when you're upset with me." I felt him smile against my cheek and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Look, I love you, but you've got to stop doing what you did in there. I can't stand up in front of all those people if all I'm able to think about is ripping off your clothes and fucking your brains out." I slapped my hand to cover my mouth. I really hadn't meant to say that last part; it was just something my stupid brain added in on the end.

Shit.

His hands tightened pleasurably on my hips and I knew I'd definitely said it out loud.

"Umm, I guess what I _meant_ to say was that -" He cut me off as he pressed a finger against my lips, his forehead against mine, breathing heavily.

"Soon love, soon." The subsequent kiss was completely different to my attack on him a few minutes ago, yet it was somehow even more erotic. He dragged his lips across mine for a few moments, then slowly and tenderly took my top lip between his two and sucked on it gently, letting his tongue trail across it but making no move to deepen the kiss.

"Mmffg." That was honestly the only sound I could make as I pulled away. My heart filled with love for him and I laid my head on his chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat through his shirt.

"We should really be getting back." If I didn't move now I'd end up staying here all night with him.

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and walked me back inside but not before removing his jacket from my shoulders and grabbing my hand before I could walk away.

He leaned down to whisper in my ear and it sent shivers down my spine, in the best way.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm really proud of you and that I love you, _so_ much." I turned my face towards his and smiled, unfortunately we were inside now so I couldn't kiss him, but I settled for squeezing his hand instead, letting him know that I loved him too.

Two hours of mingling had gone a hell of a lot quicker than I thought it would. I was standing at the bottom of the platform, waiting for Carlisle to finish the end of his speech. I kept my hands flat by my sides and I smiled when I realized I didn't have the urge to bite my nails, because I wasn't feeling nervous about this anymore.

"Our guest speaker for tonight is someone I have worked with successfully on a number of projects, but who is also a very dear friend of the family. I've asked her to speak today not only because she is a friend, but also because she has been a wonderful help in aiding the transition as the position of CEO passes down from me to my dear son Edward. Without further ado, I would like to pass you over to Senior Advisor, Isabella Swan."

Guess this is it then.

I felt Carlisle's hand at my elbow as he guided me up onto the platform, directly in front of the microphone so I could be heard well enough. He whispered a quick 'thank you' in my ear before leaving me

"Thank you Carlisle. Good evening everyone, I'd like to thank all of you for coming. Your presence here tonight means an awful lot to all the people who are going to benefit from your generosity. When Carlisle asked me to speak tonight I couldn't have been more honoured, having the chance to give something back to somebody who has already given you so much is a privilege, one that I am extremely grateful for. Many of you here will have worked with Carlisle for a lot longer than I have, but no matter the length of time, I am firm in my belief that we can all say we are pleased to have had the opportunity to do so. I can say with absolute certainty that I would not be in the job I am today, or be the person I have become, without his wisdom and guidance.

Throughout our lives, if we are lucky enough, we meet people who truly make an impact on us, who alter the path that we are on for the better. Then there are people who alter the lives of many, through their goodness of heart and the purity of their actions. And while he is leaving the company as acting CEO, I am glad that Carlisle will still be able to maintain a presence in the company he has worked so hard to build and turn into the world class organization that we know CGB to be today.

There is a saying that as one door closes, another will open, which is true in our case. Carlisle has decided to close the door on this part of his life in which he has gained great success, but in his place a door has opened in which steps his son, Edward Cullen.

Having worked with Edward for the past few months I can tell you that we can look forward to change, as is expected when something is passed from father to son. Not only change, but a continuity of the success we have all gotten so used to. I anticipate there to be risks which must be taken, targets which must be set high and challenges that must be faced. But it is my belief that something is only worth as much as hard as you are willing to fight for it. In that respect, we can look forward to a great many things, and I have every confidence that Edward will guide us there as well as his father did.

It is a proud moment for me to be able to stand here and talk about two extraordinary men who I have had the pleasure of working with. And I hope that you are all equally proud of being able to share in this exciting time of transition. Ladies and Gentlemen thank you all again for attending tonight. I urge you to give generously this evening, all proceeds as you know will go to Platform 51, which is a UK based charity that helps the rehabilitation of abused women. I know for a fact that if you have any questions, Esme Cullen will be very happy to answer them. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the Benefit. Thank you."

I breathed a sigh of relief as I heard the sound of a round of applause echo throughout the hall. I'd done it, and I hadn't stumbled, sworn or fucked up in any other way. I couldn't help my coat hanger worthy smile when I felt Edward's hand on the small of my back, guiding me away from the podium and down the steps to rejoin everyone else.

"You did brilliantly love, it took all I had not to haul you off that stage over my shoulder and steal you away."

"Are you sure, did you like it? Was it ok?"

"It was great, although you've set the bar pretty high for me love, are you sure I'm up to all that?"

"I think you're up to _anything_ Mr Cullen." I knew he wasn't really doubting himself, but I still needed to reassure him that I believed in him. We walked around for a while, many people came to congratulate me on my speech and other came to talk to Edward, either way, we stayed together.

"Bella I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine. Bella this is Jasper Whitlock. Jasper this is Bella Swan."

"Pleasure to meet you ma'am, Edward here's told me all about you." His voice washed over me and I was momentarily stunned. I felt his hand take mine in a friendly handshake but all I could barely muster a response back at him.

Oh my.

Jasper was a _southerner_. His voice was just, wow; it had such a thick twang. I imagined him to be wearing a Stetson and to have arrived here on a bucking bronco. If I wasn't completely infatuated with Edward I would beg this man to talk to me night and day. I had to close my jaw quickly before I looked stupid but apparently Edward had already noticed.

"Jasper's from Dallas Bella, we met on a semester long economics course I took at Dartmouth." I could tell he was trying to stifle a laugh and I really wanted to elbow him. That wouldn't be appropriate here though.

"That's um, that's great. It's nice to meet you Jasper."

"I just love how you British people all speak like the Queen. I could just listen to you all day; my wife Mary Alice would have a fit if she met you. She just loves the accent." His voice was smoother now he was talking more, but the accent was just as thick. It was just like the vampires out of that TV programme I'd heard advertised several times before. Beautiful.

"Oh cut it out Jazz, you're laying it on a bit thick now."

"Sorry Ed, but you know how I like to show off." His voice was distinctly more like Edward's now, but was still definitely southern, partly anyway.

"That's a shame; I thought you might be a real cowboy." Oh why did that sound so much more normal in my head than out loud?

"You're just a hoot and a half Bella; I can see why Edward here's so crazy about ya. Tell you what, next time I visit, I'll let y'all try on my Stetson." Just as I was about to assure him that if he let me try it on, he wouldn't be getting it back, his mobile phone rang out and he very politely excused himself to take the call.

"He seemed nice. I like his voice." I smiled up at Edward as we made our way outside, or Edward made _his_ way outside with me hanging on his arm.

"_Really_? I never would have guessed sweetheart." He was laughing at me now, and we were outside so I took the liberty to smack him on his shoulder, not too hard mind.

"You could have prepared me. Besides I thought I was rather composed." I smiled smugly to myself, at least I didn't ask him to make a recording and send it to me. Now _that_ would have been too much.

"Of course you were love." We walked in silence for a while but he stopped suddenly, turning me to face him.

"Stay with me tonight." I was confused; I thought that's what happened _every _night.

"Don't I always?"

"No, I mean, at my apartment, I've got a surprise for you."

"Is it a good surprise? Will I like it?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." I grinned knowing whatever my Toe Curler had in store for me, I would enjoy it _thoroughly_.

**Well, I**** really hope you liked it. This one was kind of rushed and I'm sorry about the lack of editing, but I wanted to get it to you before I go out to dinner tonight.**

**Also, those of you who have me on Author Alert will know that I submitted a new story yesterday called 'Substance'. There's only one chapter up so far, but I'd really appreciate you guys telling me what you think if you read it. **

**If you have any comments or questions about this chapter, please feel free to leave them in a review. **

**Enjoy your weekend everybody,**

**Aurora **


	27. Rapture

**Sorry for the delay guys, I really hope you all enjoy this one; it's been pretty difficult to write recently. **

**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright July 2011.**

_Last time…_

"_Stay with me tonight." I was confused; I thought that's what happened every night._

"_Don't I always?"_

"_No, I mean, at my apartment, I've got a surprise for you." _

"_Is it a good surprise? Will I like it?" _

"_You'll just have to wait and see." I grinned knowing whatever my Toe Curler had in store for me, I would enjoy it thoroughly. _

**Chapter 27 – Rapture**

"Are we there yet?" I was determined for him to crack before we got to our destination but he'd been putting up a pretty good fight so far.

"Sweetheart, you know how many steps it is up to my apartment, stop trying to get me to tell you." We were walking along the hallway to his apartment but I was sure we'd gone a different way; I hadn't started counting the steps so I couldn't tell where we were.

It was pretty late by now; I was guessing about eleven o'clock. We hadn't stayed until the end of the Benefit, I'd pleaded tiredness and Carlisle and Esme had both understood, it was actually Esme who suggested that Edward make sure I got home safe, seeing as we lived in the same building. That action alone confirmed my suspicions that she knew something, _how much_ I couldn't tell but I was positive she knew we were _more_ than friends. Edward on the other hand dismissed my worries and told me that we'd be telling them when we were ready and not a minute before. I wish I could be as laid back as he was about this.

"Edward you know I don't like surprises, just tell me, please." I tugged on his arm like an impatient five year old and frowned when he chuckled.

Not that I'd ever been disappointed in the past with any of his surprises for me but I just couldn't help my curiosity. Despite my reprimanding him to be more careful earlier in the evening, he'd grabbed my hand as soon as we walked into the apartment building, I didn't stop him, and it would have been cruel of me to deny him. Who am I kidding? I wanted to hold his hand just as much as he wanted to hold mine. Really, it was such an intimate gesture, our fingers were intertwined together and even though his hands were a lot bigger than mine it was _so_ comfortable. I rubbed my thumb over his finger slowly, hoping that would convince him to tell me.

"Humour me." I smiled when his pace started to slow, something I think he did unconsciously to let me know we were nearly there. He placed his hands carefully at my hips as he came to a stop in front of me, preventing me from moving me any further forward.

"For someone who rarely thinks about anyone else for more than half a minute a day, Rosalie picks you out some really _nice_ things." I smiled as I could hear in his voice that 'nice' probably wasn't the word he was looking for in describing my clothes. He fisted his hands gently in the fabric and pulled me closer and ran his nose slowly up the side of my neck.

"Nice? I was hoping for something a little dirtier Edward really. How about sexy or hot or f -" I laughed as he growled into the side of my neck and pushed me back against the wall none too gently.

"- or fuckable? Is that what you want to hear? You know how much I want you, so much for trying to be a gentleman."

"I love it when you show me how much you want me." No truer words had ever been spoken. I wrapped one of my hands around the base of his neck and pressed myself against him, hoping he'd be able to feel my breasts against his shirt.

"I'm _trying _to control myself Bella, I don't need any encouragement." His actions contradicted his words as he pressed himself closer to me allowing me to feel his length hard against me. I snaked my hand between us and wrapped my fingers around him firmly causing him to stand up a hell of a lot straighter.

"But what if I don't want you to? What if the idea of you losing control turns me on _so fucking much_?" I don't know where my confidence was coming from but I smiled thinking I could sure get used to it. I started rubbing him harder and felt proud when _he_ started getting even harder in my hand. I _loved _knowing I could please him, and his reaction only made me more resolute in my decision.

"You know it's bad enough when you're not trying but _fuuuuuck -" _While he was whispering to me I undid his zip and worked my fingers through the button fly on his boxers and sighed in pleasure when I was able to _really _feel him. Smooth and hard and all _mine_.

I smiled as his hand gripped my hip tightly and I felt the other alongside my head against the wall. His forehead was against mine and his breath was coming out in harsh exhales.

"We can't do this, not in the hallway; just let me…get my _key, _ahhh _fuck_!" I trailed my tongue across his pulse point as I rubbed my thumb over the head of him, spreading the moisture around before I started pumping him faster.

"I would love to be able to watch you come apart for me but I guess I'll just have to make do with listening instead." It had obviously been a while since he'd _relieved _himself and it had definitely been a couple of days since I'd had the chance to touch him, we'd been way too busy recently. I slipped my free hand carefully into the pocket of his trousers to retrieve the key and deftly reached around to the side of me to swipe it through the door. I breathed an internal sigh of relief when the door buzzed quietly behind me and opened, allowing me to slip inside slowly but not before I let go of Edward, causing him to whine.

"Baby what are you -"As soon as we were inside I switched our positions so now he was the one with his back against the wall and I was in control. His trousers were still undone so I pulled them down along with his boxers but as soon as he realised what was going on he put his hands out to stop me. The only thing I could do was push them away and try to continue with what I was doing. But he wasn't having that.

"Sweetheart, I love you but I don't want our first time to be against a wall." I knew that had been what he was thinking when he pushed me away and I also knew that if he thought I was ready, we'd take that next step tonight. But the truth is that I'm not ready for that.

"I don't want us to have sex tonight Edward, we both know I'm not ready, but I want to show you how much I want you." Without another word I dropped to my knees, careful to lie some of my velvet dress under my knees for comfort and placed both hands onto his naked thighs.

"Bella you really don't have to." His voice was almost trembling and one of his hands was in my hair now, massaging softly and I could tell the other was clenched at his side. I didn't need to see to know that he was stiff with anticipation, in more places than one.

"I want to so I will, now shut up." Before he could say anything else I wrapped one hand firmly around the base of him and reached forward to touch my lips to the very tip of him, placing a gentle kiss. I was going slowly mainly for my benefit and so I would be able to judge whether I did anything wrong based on his reactions. I heard his jaw clamp shut and took a wild guess that I'd started off ok.

I tasted the liquid that had collected at his tip and realised almost joyfully that it did not taste disgusting at all. Sure it wasn't exactly ice-cream sundae sauce but it certainly was not as horrifying as the girls at school had always talked about. I grew bolder and placed a longer kiss and smiled around him when I felt his hand tighten in my hair, so far so good. I decided to be brave and tightened the hold I had on the base of him as I wrapped my lips around him and slowly rose up on my knees to take more of him in my mouth.

"Oh fucking, uhh, so good, don't stop; uhh love you so…fucking…much." His voice was strangled and if I didn't know he wasn't, I'd have thought he was in pain.

I almost jumped when I heard his head slam back against the wall and I moaned in pleasure in response. One thing I didn't realise was that the noises I made in my throat were extremely sensitive to him considering he was already in my mouth. He let out a half moan half groan when I accidently scraped my teeth along him as I swirled my tongue up the base of him on my way back up. I paused thinking I'd hurt him but was relieved when he'd started panting and begging me for more and not to stop.

Realising that my mouth was quite able to pleasure him on its own I slid my other hand around to cup one of his bottom cheeks and squeezed ever so slightly with my nails as I tongued the slit on the head of his dick. Luckily I'd paid attention in biology at school so I knew exactly where the most sensitive parts of him were located.

"Is it ok?" I allowed myself a wry smile, I knew this probably wasn't the best he'd ever had but I thought I was doing pretty well it being my first time and all. I expected the feel of him in my mouth to be uncomfortable but it wasn't at all.

"Yes! Just don't, don't stop. Fuck me that feels so good!" I was happy with his reaction so I continued my ministrations, using one hand to cup his balls, which I knew he really liked, and the other to start rubbing him harder again while my tongue worked the top half of him. I felt his hips start a rhythm of their own as he started thrusting into my mouth, his hand in my hair almost becoming uncomfortably tight. His breaths were shallower and I could barely keep up with him on my own, I was almost grateful he was guiding me.

"Bella I'm gonna -" I knew what he was trying to articulate, but I wasn't about to start something without finishing it. I wanted to do it properly.

"Baby you h-have to step a-away, I'm…gonna, oh fuck I'm- _unffggghh_" I started swallowing as soon as he started pulsing, I felt him hit the back of my throat but he spurted long and hard several times before he began to soften in my mouth. As for the taste, I already had an idea as to what it'd be like from before and because I was so intent on swallowing; it wasn't as noticeable as I thought it'd be. I licked my lips and pulled away from him but not before giving the tip of him one last kiss. I shifted my knees trying to suppress the ache I could already feel and suddenly felt overcome with embarrassment.

_So, what happens now?_

While I was running through every moment of the past few minutes in my mind Edward was still trying to catch his breath and I wondered whether he'd found my attempts ridiculous. I started to wring my hands together in front of me and wished I had a pen or something to actually play with.

"I, um, I need to go uh, I should probably -" This time he was the one to shut me up as he pushed off from the wall and pulled me into a hug, tucking my chin beneath his head and against his chest.

"Just when I think I've got you all figured out you go and do something like _that_." He chuckled under his breath and being the social anomaly that I am, I wasn't sure whether he thought that was a good thing or not.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and stepped a little closer to him which caused him to place a kiss on the top of my head.

"So you um, you liked it then?"

"Liked it? I've jacked off more times than I can remember to pretty much exactly what you just did, but believe me, the reality was so much better than the fantasy."

"Oh well, that's good then. I was worried that -"

"You were worried that because you hadn't done it before that I wouldn't like it. What you fail to remember is that I am completely, one hundred percent, crazy in love with you so anything you do to my body is going to feel fantastic. Which it did, or couldn't you tell?"

I blushed at his words and then laughed to myself, I'd just sucked my boyfriend's cock for the first time and I was blushing over knowing how much he enjoyed it. My brain doesn't make sense, even to me.

"You _were_ pretty vocal." I nuzzled my face into his chest and finally lay my cheek over his heart, sighing in contentment as I listened to his heartbeat.

"Well I was enjoying myself _immensely_." His hands found my hips and rubbed circles on the way up to my breasts. I wasn't planning on him discovering what I had on underneath until we went to bed later and I bit my lip when he realised I wasn't wearing my usual bra.

"What do we have here then?" His hands palmed my breasts through my dress until they met in the middle of my chest. I stepped backwards when he tried to pull the front of my dress away from my body to take a look and I laughed when he grumbled.

"Uh that's nothing; you don't need to see that."

"It's covering up my favourite pair of breasts; of _course _I need to see it." I imagined him frowning like a little boy and grabbed his face with my hands.

"I thought you said you had a surprise for me." I avoided his lips as I kissed his cheek, I didn't think he'd appreciate the alternative.

"So I did, and I do. But you have to trust me and play along, kind of." I had no idea where he was going with this but I decided to do as he said. I also presumed that this meant please don't ask any questions. So I didn't.

"Um, you wait here; I'll be right back, just uh, give me a few minutes ok?" The happy, easy-going Edward from two minutes ago had disappeared and had been replaced by his nervous doppelganger.

"Sure." I heard the door click and made my way to the bathroom, smoothing my hair down along the way. I'm pretty sure it had gotten fairly messed up during our escapades and whatever Edward had planned, I didn't want to look a state. I ran my fingers along the shelf by the cabinet feeling my way for my toothbrush I knew I had here. I smiled when I felt the grooves along the side of the one that was mine. I hadn't really considered that there might be an aftertaste but there certainly was, and while it wasn't completely unpleasant I'm sure Edward would prefer minty fresh.

I ran my hands over my dress and flexed my toes in my shoes one by one. I was surprised they didn't ache, I'd been walking around in these the entire night and I was expecting my feet to have fallen off by this point. I was happy to know I could survive at least one night in them.

Knocking at the door pulled me out of my reverie and I walked quickly to the door, still confused about why he had to knock instead of just letting himself in.

"Is everything ok?"

"Hi, it's Edward Cullen. I'm here to pick you up." Gone was his familiar tone he used with me, I almost laughed he sounded so formal.

"Pick me up, right of course. Just uh, remind me where we're going would you Edward?" I couldn't work out what game he was playing but I was interested to see where he'd be going with it.

"To prom, you said you'd go with me. I made sure to ask you before anyone else." The way he spoke, he sounded like a nervous teenager and it hit me like a lightening bolt. Edward was here to take me to prom, to the dance I never went to; he was giving me something I'd always secretly wanted.

"You do remember don't you?" The magnitude of the gesture hit me and I tried not to get too emotional, I didn't want to ruin what he had planned for us.

"Of course I do, I've been looking forward to it ever since you asked me." I beamed a smile up at him hoping I could accurately display how much I appreciated this with one look.

"Well you're the prettiest girl in school; I was scared you'd want to go with someone else." I tried to hide my smile but he was playing his part way too well.

"No, I'm glad you were the one to ask me. I wouldn't have said yes to anyone else."

"Good, are you ready to go? We don't want to be late." I could hear him shuffling his feet and I smiled at his attempts to appear nervous. We both knew he could have me any way he wanted me.

"Yeah sure, do you think I'll need a coat?"

"No, I won't let you get cold." There was nothing provocative in his tone, only love and devotion and it moved me more than it should have. I nodded to myself and closed the door behind me, positive that Edward had a key for us to use to get back in whenever 'prom' finished.

"Here, I uh, I got you something. You'll probably think it's stupid but my Mom said I had to give it to you. It's uh, it's a corsage, you pin it to your dress. You don't have to, if you don't want to, but I thought you might like it." Even though no-one had ever given me one before, I knew what they looked like. When I was sixteen there was a summer ball at the end of the school year, Renee was so eager for me to go that she bought me several to choose from. I think she knew that I wasn't popular or social enough to attract any kind of male attention. I remembered the sight of the beautiful small arrangements of flowers, and even though I couldn't see the one Edward had given me, I was more than convinced that it was beautiful.

I felt him trail his fingers over my wrist gently before picking up my hand and slipping the band around my wrist. He brought said hand up to his mouth and placed a lingering kiss on the soft skin of my palm. I didn't care about blushing now, all Rosalie's hard work to make me look beautiful was probably hidden beneath my reddened cheeks but I wanted him to know the effect had on me. It wasn't something I had to hide when we were alone together.

He held onto the hand adorned with the corsage and led me out of the door silently. I'm glad that he understood how much I needed a minute to let all of this sink in. Throughout my teenage years I'd felt like I'd been waiting for someone to sweep me off my feet, or at least _try_ to, and here Edward was, giving me everything I'd ever wanted.

_I feel like the luckiest girl in the world._

I nudged on his hand gently to get his attention but made sure we carried on walking to the car. "I just wanted to tell you that tonight was perfect, just in case I forget to tell you later."

"Thanks, but don't you think it's a little premature? I mean I could screw this whole thing up with my fucktard tendencies."

"You could, I don't think you will but you could. But think of it from my point of view; the man I love more than anything in the world is not only giving me everything just by _being_ with me but he's also trying to give me an experience I never thought I'd have. I think it's safe to say tonight will make the top five."

"The top five…?"

"The top five best nights of my life. All of which feature you by the way."

"Really?" I couldn't believe he sounded surprised, didn't he get it yet?

"Uh, yeah. Without a doubt." I didn't mean to sound patronising, but to me it was pretty obvious.

"Well for the record, you're in all of mine too."

"You have a list?"

"Not before five minutes ago, but now I think about it, even if there was a top ten, you'd be in all of those too."

"So what's your number one?" This was something I was curious about, I wasn't sure whether ours would be the same, but I could take a guess as to what it would be.

"When you told me you loved me for the first time."

"That was in the afternoon."

"Afternoon, evening, same thing. It's the sentiment I'm talking about. Don't be pedantic."

"Well it's invalid, it can't come under the category of best nights ever if it was in the afternoon, and you're neglecting the rules."

"You know it's a good thing I _do_ love you."

"I know, it's all a part of the deal, you're contractually obliged to put up with me."

"Contractually obliged? That sounds a bit official." He was laughing now, but I was still trying to be serious. Damn him.

"Yes, well, it should. I'm thinking of getting you to sign something."

"Whatever you want love."

"I'm trying to bicker with you like we're an old married couple but I don't think its working because we're a young, _unmarried_ couple."

"Well then we should remedy that shouldn't we?"

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to be wishing our twenties away, we'll be old and wrinkly in no time otherwise."

"Not the young part, the other bit."

"The married bit."

"Yeah, that bit."

"Is this your idea of a proposal?"

"Well no, but you _did _say that you wanted me to sign something. A marriage register is as good as any contract. That way I'm both legally _and_ contractually obliged to put up with you." I could hear him smiling behind his words but I couldn't see how he could be so calm about this. _Marriage_. How could he be so blasé about getting married? Had he been thinking about it a lot, fuck, was he thinking of asking me soon? My mind drew a blank as I tried to process all my incoherent thoughts.

"Um, yeah, I guess that, I mean, that would be -"

"Bella, baby, calm down. I'm not going to ask you to marry me tonight. One day, yes I will, but we'll talk about it way before and hopefully we'll get around to telling my parents that we're together sometime before I propose."

"Yeah that sounds good." I didn't realise I had been holding my breath and exhaled in one big gush.

"Bella, breathe." I didn't even realise we were on the car at this point. I barely remembered getting into the lift to get down to the garage; I was focusing so much on the things he was saying.

"Have you always talked about marriage with your prom dates or is this a new thing?"

"No, definitely not. This is all for you. Was it too much?"

"Maybe, I don't know. Actually no, I don't think so, I think I just need to realise I'm not dreaming."

"Am I really that surreal?"

"Yeah, you always have been and I'm pretty sure you always will be."

"Silly Bella."

_Silly Edward_

I didn't have to be able to see to know that he'd be looking at me which for some unknown reason was making me blush profusely.

I couldn't help my smile when I felt his finger brush over my dress-clad thigh. Even the lightest of touches from him affected me more than anything I had ever experienced. I shivered with excitement and placed my hand over his to move it under the slit in my dress so that his hand was actually touching my leg.

"Baby, what are you…doing?" I could hear traces of excitement and confusion in his voice, I always loved it when I had the upper hand, even if only for a little while.

"Just holding your hand, that's ok isn't it?" As I spoke I pulled his hand slowly higher up my leg allowing him to feel the strap of my garter belt.

"_Yes._ I can't wait to see that dress on the floor so I can see what that looks like." His voice was lower and I allowed myself a smug grin. Our hands were even higher now so his fingers were tracing the line of my thong.

"Oh, but I thought you liked the dress?" I kept my tone coy and innocent but I knew he wasn't buying any of it. I just loved playing with him like this.

"_Bella" _His tone was hard and I just loved the way my name sounded coming from him.

"Yes darling?" I turned towards him so he could see the smile on my face; I was so happy right now, I wasn't going to hide it from him.

He was silent for a few minutes and I immediately presumed that something was wrong, or that I'd taken a step too far.

"Edward what is it? I'm sorry I didn't mean to distract you, I know you're driving." I suddenly felt embarrassed and stupid at my actions, what was I thinking trying to play with Edward like he so easily played with me? I wasn't charming or seductive and I didn't know why I ever thought I could be, I pulled my hand away from his and looked in the direction of the window, away from his face so he couldn't see me. I don't know where all my previous courage had gone but right now I was feeling about two feet tall. Why did I have to overcomplicate things?

"Love, you've got to stop doing that." His tone was exasperated and if he hadn't been driving I imagined he would be running his hands through his beautiful hair.

"What?"

"You doubted yourself again didn't you? I can see it in your face, how many times do I have to tell you how much I love you to get you to believe me? I thought we were past this." His voice had gone from confused to sounding almost upset. I hated that I'd done that.

"Sometimes it just doesn't make sense for all of this to be happening." I worried that what I'd said hadn't portrayed how I felt but then I realized that it did. Occasionally I had to take a step back and remind myself that this wasn't all too good to be true, I'd accepted that I wouldn't find someone and it was hard to think differently.

"I know exactly what you mean. Just now, when you looked at me with the biggest smile on your face I couldn't believe how lucky I was. How lucky I am. Sometimes I don't think you realise that I'm as blown away by you are as you are by me."

"I wasn't aware you ever blew me away Cullen, you might want to check your source on that one." I nudged him with my elbow to let him know I was definitely joking.

"You're right though, I guess I don't always think about it like that. I think it's because you've got so much more experience than me." I smiled as he pulled the car to a stop, I was glad we'd finally arrived.

"Maybe in some aspects, but I've never been in love before, nothing has ever even come close to what we have." I didn't want to say anything in return in case the tears that were threatening to fall really did, so I just gave him my best toothy grin instead.

He squeezed my hand once before getting out of the car and running around to my side to open my door for me. He took my hand in his and helped me out, by some miracle I managed to stay upright but he placed his hand on the small of my back just in case.

"How about we just agree that we love each other? There are going to be times when we're both going to mess up, and that's ok, but we can't ever doubt our feelings for one another. I wouldn't be able to live without you now Bella; I wouldn't even want to _try_." He grasped both my hands between his and placed his forehead against mine as he spoke such beautiful words of love and devotion to me.

"I think that sounds like a pretty good plan." We both laughed at how serious the tone of the evening had become and he led me to the makeshift dance floor he'd had set up in the marquee he was using for our prom setting.

We danced for _hours_. Song after beautiful song played through the speakers and sometimes Edward would sing the words in my ear and sometimes we would just sway silently from side to side, revelling in the peace one brought the other.

I placed my hand over his heart just as Clair de Lune was coming to an end and whispered softly to him.

"I never knew it could be like this. I never even imagined I could be this happy."

"Me either." His hand on my back drew me closer to him, something I didn't think was possible, and I sighed when he spun me round in a half circle so my back was facing his front. We continued to sway as the song changed. This wasn't a piece I recognised and I could feel his lips smiling in my hair so I knew that there was something going on.

I was about to ask a question when a voice could be heard humming over the sound of the piano. It was incredibly familiar and at first I was confused when suddenly it dawned on me.

"Edward is this…?"

"Shh, just listen." His lips were still in my hair and I was concentrating so hard on the sounds that I almost couldn't move. The music was sweet with a depth to it that made me weak at the knees, it sounded so passionate and loving and…

"_I'd like to dedicate this piece to my, to Isabella Swan, the only girl in the world worth playing for." _

His voice sounded slightly more formal that I was used to when we were together but the words themselves more than made up for it. It was so beautiful, what he'd said, what he'd _done_.

But there was something wrong. Something that was bugging me, when he'd said 'my', he had hesitated, and_ my _Edward never worried about making a claim to me when we were together.

"Do you like it?" His voice sounded nervous but I couldn't imagine why. Who wouldn't want their boyfriend to record a song and message for them?

"Like it? Edward I _love_ it. It's amazing, _you're _amazing. But when did you record it?"

"Uh, yeah it was a while back." He buried his head into the crook of my neck and I turned around slightly to face him.

"How long is a 'while' back?"

"Well you remember when I took you to the old chapel?"

"Of course."

"Yeah I didn't get much sleep that night. As soon as the melody came into my head I had to write it down and then -"

"Wait; hold on a second, _you wrote this_?" Could the man _get_ any sexier?

"Yes."

"Babe, how many fucking brownie points are you trying to _earn_?" I think he might have been about to say something but I was in complete awe of him and couldn't do anything other than grab his face and kiss him for all I was worth. I pulled away only to breath and missed the taste of him immediately.

"I think it's about time we get home so you can see what my dress looks like on your floor." _And everything else._

**Did you like it? I'd love to hear what you guys thought.**

**I know it's been a while since I've updated and that can be a pain when you're trying to read a story, but trust me I won't give up on this, I plan to see it through right to the end.**

**Any comments / questions / suggestions are always welcome.**

**Aurora**


	28. I Want To Hold Your Hand

**Hello everyone, long time no see (no pun intended)! Sorry about that, as I've explained to a few of you things have been extremely busy on my end. Thank you to the readers who PM'd me to get a move on because they wanted to read what happens next, I needed that from you guys.**

**(!) (!) Some exciting news, actually **_**very **_**exciting, someone nominated 'Sight' for an award! It's been nominated for 'The Glory Awards' in 'The Little Glory That Could' category! I'm not sure about voting, when it starts or ends etc… but if you visit www . thegloryawards . webs . com (without spaces) you can see some of the incredible stories I'm honoured to even share a category with, seriously some of them are among my favourites. I was shocked and flattered and very happy so thank you whoever it was and if you'd like to send me a PM whoever you are I'd love to be able to thank you properly. **

**I'm kind of nervous about this one, I'd love some feedback.**

**Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora, copyright October 2011.**

_Last time…_

"_Wait; hold on a second, you wrote this?" Could the man get any sexier? _

"_Yes."_

"_Babe, how many fucking brownie points are you trying to earn?" I think he might have been about to say something but I was in complete awe of him and couldn't do anything other than grab his face and kiss him for all I was worth. I pulled away only to breath and missed the taste of him immediately._

"_I think it's about time we get home so you can see what my dress looks like on your floor." And everything else._

**Chapter 28 – I Want To Hold Your Hand**

_I bet I look like a bloody idiot. Why I decided to get this done this morning before work and not after is beyond me. _

Walking wasn't uncomfortable, and it certainly wasn't painful but the sensations between my legs were a little strange. It was a good strange though which was ok.

I shivered at the temperature change as I walked through the main foyer out of the cold. I was starting to feel toasty warm already and I hadn't even gotten passed security yet. I knew I'd be way too hot up in my office.

"Miss Bella we were thinking that you have gave yourself day off after the big speech night, but we are happy that you are here." I smiled at Felix's incredibly thick Polish accent, sometimes I couldn't understand what he was saying but his English was getting better all the time.

"Oh, there's no rest for the wicked I'm afraid."

"Yes, we know. But it is important, no, to take time out sometimes. Demetri tells me how hardworking you are. In Polish we say _pracowity_, which is hardworking so you are _nasze ulubione pracowita pani_." I giggled in spite of myself; it was _way_ too early to consider trying to understand someone speaking in any language other than English. Especially when my knowledge of Polish was incredibly limited, I could only understand greetings and farewells, small things that they are trying to teach me.

"I would try and repeat what you just said but I think I'd be offending the whole of Poland if I did."

"One day we will teach you and you will be fearless and terrifying Polack queen of CGB."

"I think terrifying is a bit of an exaggeration don't you?"

"Oh no, it is funny because it is true. Demetri, he tells me what it is like when you are shouting at Mr Cullen and the others, I feel like I am missing out down here." He was laughing to himself and I had to admit that despite what he was saying I had to laugh as well.

"You know you better not let Edward hear you talking about him like that. Just because you two are my favourites…"

"Oh no, we have a lot of respect for Mr Cullen, he is good boss and he makes Miss Bella happy."

"Wha -" I knew immediately that he didn't mean 'making Miss Bella happy' in a professional sense.

"It is ok, Demetri, he told me -"

"My God do you two ever stop gossiping?" They were worse than two old women, and considering they worked in two separate parts of the building, I couldn't see how they found the time.

"No, no, no not _gossip_ but making sure that Miss Bella is looked after. We would never say things to anyone. Our job is to protect the building yes, but more to protect you and Mr Edward. That is promise." I was quite moved by what he'd said so I leaned in to give him a hug, it was probably a little bit inappropriate but I didn't care. God knows I was already pushing the boundaries of professional at work enough as it was.

_I think sleeping and living with the CEO is a little bit more than pushing the boundaries Bella._

Inner voice had me there, there was no come back for that.

I felt him bent down and whisper in my ear, "remember when you are Polack queen there is no hugging the staffs in the hallways. This is not fearless and terrifying enough!" My cheeks were hurting from laughing so hard by the time he helped me into the lift and I was still giggling on the way to my desk.

Who'd have thought that those two would be so observant? I guess I wasn't such a good judge of observational skills, being blind and all, but I'd surely underestimated them. In a way it was a good thing that they'd figured out that we were together, they'd be able to look out for certain individuals who may be paying too much attention to us, mainly Aro.

That now put the total number of people who knew about us up to three, four if I included Jake. It wasn't enough to make me too nervous but we couldn't afford to have any more privy to our secret.

I tried to be as quiet as I could and greet as few people as possible as I made my way to my office, hoping desperately to avoid Edward's attention. I wanted this to be a surprise for him and I knew if I bumped into him he'd call me into his office and ask where I'd been. He hadn't known I'd be coming in _this _late.

I swear I was almost there and I was about to congratulate myself on my stealth like skills but not before I bumped into Angela, who, unfortunately for me, was feeling _particularly_ talkative this morning.

"Morning Bella, I just wanted to catch you before you got started for the day. Also, congratulations for Saturday! You were _amazing_; I don't think I'd _ever_ be able to stand up like that in front of all those people. I had a tear in my eye by the end of it, and everyone was saying how great you looked, that was such a beautiful dress." I was half torn between running to my office to escape being caught by Edward and half ready to stand there frozen with my mouth hanging open because that was without a doubt the most I'd ever heard Angela say at once.

"Thanks Angela, listen I hate to be rude but I've really got to get on this morning. You know how it is, Monday morning and all that. Maybe we can catch up for lunch later in the week."

"Oh, of course! I'm sorry; I forget how busy you are."

"Ok, have a good day won't you?"

"Sure, see you later Bella. Oh, actually there was one thing, Edward wanted to see you, he didn't say what it was about, but he looked a bit agitated so best not to keep him waiting too long. You know what he's like." Yes Angela, yes I do.

I sighed as I realised that once again, I'd underestimated him. I thought it was a bit suspicious when I realised I'd had no missed calls or texts from him. Why bother when he could just wait and ask me when I _eventually_ get in?

I wasn't stupid enough to think that he'd wait until tonight to ask me where I'd been this morning so I was hardly surprised when he phoned me to call me into his office after I'd failed to make an appearance. I decided not to take Sheila with me and left her happily munching on a bone I'd bought for her this morning as penance for being absent this weekend. Apparently she and Emmett had had a wonderful bonding weekend.

I made a mental note to take him out for dinner this week as a thank you, he'd been such a great help with looking after her and I wanted him to know how much I appreciated it. Just as long as he didn't ask me for Rosalie's underwear or bra measurements we'd be fine. I giggled to myself at how funny he became whenever I talked about Rose, not that I can see her or anything, and I'm sure she is absolutely beautiful, but the man just about _melts_ whenever he hears her name. Even if they ended up dating I'd have to remind myself to keep bringing up his soppy state, that shit was just too good to keep to myself.

I was a lot more comfortable now and any burning that I had felt had disappeared so I strode confidently along the corridor to where Edward was waiting for me. Twenty steps ahead, evenly paced and two steps to the right, I smiled as I smelled the faint hint of the cinnamon air freshener he'd placed in there last week, I was tired of the vanilla one and this one had a lot more spice to it. It helped that Sheila approved too, I think by now whenever I said Edward's name she'd take me to him, wherever he was.

"Mr Cullen? You wanted to see me." I spoke formally for those outside who had the potential to hear what was spoken while the door was open. Even though his office was a million miles away from anyone else other than me it didn't hurt to be careful.

"Ah yes Ms Swan, please come in." I closed the door behind me and listened carefully for a moment to ascertain just where he was, but he was being unusually quiet. Normally I could tell straight away where he was. Sometimes if it was late and we were on our own up here he'd throw the door open and pull me inside without a care as to who might see us. My favourite times included when he would carry me to the wonderfully soft leather sofa and, well, we wouldn't end up discussing merger tactics that for sure.

Although talking about mergers of a _different_ time could be productive…

I snapped out of my lusty daydream as I realised he was probably waiting for me to say something.

"Hey sorry I didn't let you know about coming in late, I knew you had that conference call with Sweden so I thought you'd be busy." And I was having the forest of my you know what felled so I really couldn't be here.

"I'm not going to interrogate you sweetheart. Maybe I just called you in here because I miss you." I realised he'd been right in front of me the whole time when I heard him speak. I didn't have time to formulate much of a response because he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. It didn't take me long to respond, I smiled into the kiss and moved my hands into his hair, loving his smell, taste, _everything._

I don't know what he put in his hair to make it so bloody soft but it wasn't conditioner because mine never felt like this. I moved my hands through it and thanked any and every divine being that my boyfriend liked to take care of himself. I could feel his strong, powerful arms wrapped around me and as he got more enthusiastic his chest pressed up against mine. What I wouldn't give to be able to unbutton that pesky shirt button by button and rake my hands over my beautiful man.

I didn't have to know what Edward looked like to call him beautiful, he was like that on the inside and without a doubt on the outside. How I got so lucky I'll never know.

His hands made their way south from my waist to my hips and gradually down further to palm my bottom unapologetically and unreservedly. I never wanted him to stop exploring but at the same I could get used to the feel of his hands on me all the time. Although that may be a little convenient for when we have to you know, act like normal human beings and socialise and be around other people.

Well, I suppose being a recluse with Edward as my companion wouldn't be _so_ bad.

I giggled as he bent his head to kiss the hollow beneath my ear, I bit my lip in restrained pleasure. He knew I loved it there and sometimes he spent forever with his lips at that point, scraping his teeth over it gently, licking it better, then blowing air softly over the tender mark, and then, of course, repeating.

Hearing his breathing become a little bit heavier was turning me on and I moaned quietly as he whispered, "I thought I told you not to wear thongs at work. How am I supposed to stay in here when your ass looks so delicious?"

"Oh you know me; I just picked out the first thing I laid my hands on." I was the one leaning against his desk now with him standing in between my legs, his hands still encasing my waist.

_See if he just slid my skirt up my legs and pushed said thong aside he'd be in the most perfect position to slam…_

Behave!

"_Really?_ You know that's _funny_ because I distinctly remember you in those lacy blue ones this morning, and I'm quite used to what _they_ feel like under your skirt. I've got quite the accurate memory where it concerns your panties. Now I'm confused, why would you need to change your panties between getting ready for work and arriving at work?" Shit, shit and triple shit.

"Uh, well I, I had an appointment this morning." Please if you love me leave it at that.

"An appointment? Really, well, now let me think... If it was a doctor's appointment, I _know_ you would have told me about that so it's nothing serious which is _good_. So if nothing's wrong then you must be able to tell me where you were this morning." His voice was quiet against my ear but the sound of his voice made me want to run my legs together for friction. How did he get me so worked up like this? If only I had half the effect on him that he has on me.

"It's a secret, or a surprise, whatever you want to call it, it's something that I'm not going to share with you just yet." I tilted my chin up in defiance, I was going to make a stand and not give in to him as I always did.

"But we don't have any secrets between us love. And as much as I'd like a surprise, I'd rather you tell me, or better yet _show_ me." Instead of waiting for my reply he began to make a trail of kisses from my jaw to my collarbone and then across to the centre of my chest. I was too distracted by what he was doing to me to realise that he had begun to unbutton my shirt. It was only when I felt the feel of his soft wet lips edging towards my bra that I finally realised what he was doing.

"You can spend the rest of the day kissing me if you want but it's not going to make me tell you."

"Hm, why not?" I laughed softly at his antics and began to button my shirt back up, now wasn't the time for this.

I held his face between my hands as I spoke to him, "because my darling I have to get back to work and so do you." I gave him a quick peck on the lips and tried to get around him to leave.

"What did you get done at Lauren's? The curiosity will kill me if you don't tell me." Wait, how does he know I went to Lauren's?

"How do you - "

"When Jake didn't drop you to the office at the same time as me I may or may not have called him to tell me where he was taking you." Now he sounded shy and sheepish and he had every right to.

"You sneaky bastard. Well now I'm definitely not going to tell you. You'll have to wait until tonight."

"Will I like it?"

"I think you'll _bare_ly be able to contain your excitement when you see it."

"Did you get a…you know, wax? How much did you have off?"

"That's a silly question Edward; you know I'm an all or nothing kind of girl." I'm pretty sure he was gaping at me with his mouth open so I took the chance to give him another quick kiss and steal out of the door before he could react.

"Oh and Edward, _try_ not to think about what you're going to find under my thong tonight when you come home. I wouldn't want you to be distracted at work. Love you babe." How I strolled out of there so confidently I do not know, but I know I wanted to jump up and down and do my very own happy dance.

_I make that ten thousand points to __Bella_ _and none for Edward. Not bad…_

I was currently dancing around my kitchen in one of Edward's shirts to the Beatles. I'd managed to leave work at just gone five o'clock, I'd fed Sheila and taken her for a walk, I'd caught up on emails that would have to be answered before tomorrow and now…I couldn't think of anything better to do than to dance to one of my favourite songs. I had such strong memories of seeing my dance to this song when I was younger and of course when they were still together.

I used to sit on the comfy chair in our small lounge and load the tape into the player and watch in awe and fascination as my father twirled my mother around the room. Sometimes I joined in and I would step on Charlie's feet while he twirled me around, most of the time I was too shy but I remember feeling like a princess when I plucked up the courage to dance with my father.

What would Edward and I be like that when we were older? It wasn't exactly difficult for me to imagine being married to him, according to Rosalie; we already acted as if we were. At the end of the day, marriage was just putting in writing that you love somebody and wanted to spend the rest of your life with them. While I wasn't completely imposed to marriage as an institution, I still couldn't help reflecting on my parent's situation.

My mother and father had married young and some years later Renee had realised that she wanted different things, I remember with absolute clarity how it shattered Charlie, he never was the sae after Renee left. A couple of years later, Renee met Phil but they decided not to get married, but for the few years they managed to have together before the accident, they were blissfully happy.

Would we be the same? Would it make a difference if we got married or if we just stayed living together as we were? I didn't even want to entertain the thought of Edward one day leaving me, but marriage certificate or not it wasn't impossible. But it was important to him, he'd been making hints, and at the weekend he'd declared with absolute certainty that one day he'd ask me to marry him, so I knew he regarded marriage with higher esteem than I did. And Rose had been right when she's said that he'd already given me a ring so now we just needed to make it official.

I allowed my mind to drift some years ahead, recreating the scene of my parents dancing but replacing with Edward and I. Would we have a child watching us dance, or _children_ we held in our arms as we swayed together blissfully?

I imagined a small boy seated on Edward's shoulders and a little girl holding my hand as we walked around the park. The little boy would have Edward's wild hair and confidence and the little girl would hopefully look how I used to remember my mother looking with her thick brown hair and deep brown eyes. Our little boy would always want to protect his sister and she'd have a quiet confidence make sure that he didn't scrape his knees too much. Surprisingly the thought didn't shock or unnerve me, but a warm feeling came over me as I thought about the possibilities our future held for us.

I was completely baffled how I was able to think and get excited about having children with Edward in my head yet I couldn't quite make up my mind about children. Traditionally one came before the other and while it was obviously perfectly acceptable nowadays to have children and not need to get married at all, I couldn't of thinking that one had to accompany the other. I was more like my father than my mother in the sense that we were both very traditional and stuck to our decisions once we'd decided what we wanted. Apparently I looked a lot like my mum but I didn't have any photos to compare with and I couldn't say what I looked like now.

A knock at the door startled me out of my reverie and once I'd checked the time I realised I'd been sitting here for a little over two hours, I must have almost fallen asleep in that time, or perhaps I had and I'd been dreaming, who knows?

Suddenly it hit me; I hadn't spoken to Edward or been with him at all since my teasing him earlier on. I was hoping beyond anything that he was ready to ravish me now; I wanted him to burst upon the door and pull me into his arms in a passionate kiss. Then he'd carry me over to the table or better yet, the nearest surface, and pleasure me in ways I hadn't been able to stop thinking about _all day_.

He'd tried when we got home Saturday night, well actually it was three o'clock Sunday morning, to reciprocate for earlier on but I was nervous and I kind of froze. The thought of his mouth _down there_ was probably one of the most erotic fantasies, other than those involving actually having sex with him, in my repertoire. The worry I couldn't shake was that there'd be too much, well too much hair for his liking. Obviously he knew exactly what was down there already; he'd spent long enough bringing me incredible amounts of pleasure with those talented hands of his. I knew it wasn't horrendous because I made sure to trim it short every once in a while, but if he was really going to go there, I want wanted it gone, all of it.

I called Rosalie on Sunday and she assured me that while the first time was painful, which it bloody well was, that it was always the worst the first time and after that it gradually got easier. I trusted her advice on all things maintenance and beauty so I let her book me an appointment at the sae place she uses and was surprised with how professional the girl was despite the fact that she now obviously knew me more intimately than any woman ever has before.

I strode confidently to my front door, ready to be ravished and confident that it would be every bit as mind blowing as Rosalie had said it would be. I also promised myself that I wouldn't get embarrassed, Edward and I were adults, and as long as he was willing then so was I. I just hoped he appreciated what I'd had done and was willing to reward me.

"Hey babe, I missed you." I opened the door wide and before I even allowed him to hang up his coat I threw my arms around him and kissed him with all the built up passion and frustration that had been plaguing me today while I thought about what would happen tonight.

He was surprised at first but he soon responded, although definitely not as enthusiastically as I was used to. I pulled away and decided to think nothing of it and thought I'd let him in.

"Well that was unexpected. Have you been home long?" He definitely didn't sound like his usual self; he didn't even want to give me a hug.

"Um, a couple of hours I guess. Are you ok?" I was disappointed but curious at the same time.

"Yeah, just tired, I think we should just have dinner then go to bed. How does that sound?"

"Fine, yeah sure, whatever you want." No, no it's not fine. You're meant to be all caveman and wanting me because I teased you today.

I was upset, sure, but I thought that he'd feel better once he'd had a shower and the chance to get changed, so I put the pie we'd made the day before in the oven and waited patiently in the kitchen while he finished freshening up.

When he _did_ eventually come back I was sorely disappointed. All I got was a kiss on the side of my head, thanking me for making a plate up for him and after that he sat down without another word.

He was quiet and formal through dinner, making small talk with me about the project which was unusual because we hardly _ever_ talked about work at home. It was almost like he was ignoring me, or purposely not acting like his usual self, but I had no idea why he'd be doing that. I asked him again if there was anything else bothering him but apparently he was still 'tired' so I didn't bother asking him again.

He made a couple of passing comments as we sat down in the lounge and he watched a programme all about French gastronomy. I snuggled into his side, sighed loudly hoping he'd get the hint but all he did was rub my arm for a couple of minutes and then resume watching the television. I even stretched dramatically giving him what I knew would be a good view of my chest but he didn't say anything or make any movement to indicate that he was affected by my display. As a last resort I started placing kisses up the side of his neck, the way I knew he couldn't resist but he claimed that this was the best part and he didn't want to miss the last five minutes.

_What the fuck? Clearly someone who is not Edward is pretending to be Edward and has _my _Edward locked up in a cell somewhere because fake Edward has had him taken hostage. _

I huffed in irritation now, before I was upset, now I was annoyed, impatient and horny.

Well if he was going to sit there and learn all about _la cuisine de la France_ I was going to bed.

I was just settling myself under the covers when I heard him climb into bed, but instead of snuggling up behind me like he usually does, he fluffed his pillow, turned the bedside lamp on and started _reading._

I had endured twenty minutes of pain and burning this morning and aching throughout the rest of the day and _he_ was sitting in bed _reading._

"Night love, sleep well." Yeah you too fucker. I mumbled goodnight to him and turned on my side.

"Oh you forgot your pyjama shorts, do you want me to pass you them?"

"Why bother? It's not like anything under them is going to get _any attention_." I mumbled my response at him and didn't bother to turn over to face him.

"Bella, what's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure? Because if you're ok then I'm just going to go to sleep now."

Oh boy, do you _really_ want me to spell it out? I spun around so he'd be facing me and put my elbow on the pillow so he'd know I meant business.

"What's the _matter_? I think we both know what the matter is Junior. This morning I endured the embarrassment and pain and _burning_ of getting this stupid wax done all so I'd finally be able to show you how much I trusted you and wanted you. You knew what I had done, because let's be honest, who has to go to an appointment which is non-doctor related and has to change their underwear as a result of it. I wonder how many possible solutions there can be to that combination of events. You're a smart guy Edward I don't expect this to be impossible for you to figure out.

Jesus, I even _hinted_ that you'd be able to see it tonight and I was hoping that you'd want to pick up from Saturday night as much as I do but no, you're _so tired_ and _so interested_ in that stupid French programme and _then _you _dare _to come to bed without giving me so much as a kiss goodnight and you want to read that stupid bloody book! So no, you're not just going to _go to sleep_ you're going to pick up right where you left off and show me _just how much_ you appreciate me waiting all fucking _day_ for you to get your mouth on me!" I was out of breath by the time I'd finished and was breathing heavily.

Well fuck _me._

Even _I_ was surprised at, well, myself.

"Are you done?" His voice was shallower and I found he was breathing heavier than usual as well, except he hadn't been the one doing the ranting.

"Yeah I think that covered everything." Without another word he gripped me by my waist, pulled me to him so I was pressed against him, and rolled us over so he hovered over me, not supporting too much of his weight on his arms, just the way I liked it.

My core started to throb and he hadn't said anything yet but I knew that whatever happened tonight, I was going to be one hundred percent satisfied. He was hard against my stomach and I grinned knowing there was nothing between us, Edward wasn't wearing anything either.

"So when…" His lips cut me off in a searing kiss and he pushed his tongue forcefully into my mouth. I gasped at his suddenness but relented immediately as I felt his tongue fighting against mine. I let him kiss me just the way he wanted and moan around his lips when he massaged my tongue with his and then pulled out a little to nibble on my now swollen lips.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that, I was so close to giving in and just taking you there when you kissed me tonight. You can't imagine how many ways I've thought about having you today. Over my desk, just at the right level so I can bend you over it and feast on you. On our dining room table, on the kitchen counter, in the shower with your leg over my shoulder, _here _so I can spread you open and feast on you." As he was speaking he was placing kisses down my body, swirling his tongue around my nipple, biting my breast, dipping his tongue into my belly button, it was all too much

"Fuck…Edward, please; I don't want to wait any longer." My hands were tangled in his hair and I was struggling to keep still. I could feel the wetness at the tops of my legs and I was sure the sheet below me was soaked.

"Yes ma'am."

The first thing I felt was air on me as he lifted the cover away from us to give him a better view. He kissed the inside of my thigh which sent a fluttering to the pit of my stomach.

"Next time I'll take time to worship you properly, but now I just want to taste you. Is that ok?"

"Ye…uuhhhh, oh…my…ungh." I shivered and fought not to throw my hips up off the bed as he gave me a long lick from my entrance right up to my throbbing clit. Where the skin had been burning and sensitive before, now it felt like the best kind of pins and needles and every brush of his tongue made me shiver in pleasure.

"You don't know how fucking hot it is to see you bare and open and so _ready_ for me. Biggest turn on, _ever._"

He hummed against me and before I could bite my lip the strangest sounding moan erupted from me but I couldn't find it in me to be embarrassed, I was enjoying this far too much. He continued his slow pace, nuzzling the soft skin against his nose while his tongue licked softly around my clit, making me pant like a dog and move myself ever closer to his face.

"You like that? I want to hear how _good_ it feels baby, tell me."

"So good Edward, don't stop, best ever, please, uhh."

I had my legs spread out, parted so he had complete access to me but it was harder to pull him closer in that position. As if he sensed exactly what I wanted he brought each leg up over his shoulder and pulled me towards him with his hands around my hips.

I couldn't help but clamp my legs around his head; it made it much easier for me to move against his face. I was worried about suffocating him but he seemed to be enjoying himself as much as I was.

I could feel beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead and I almost moved my hands from his hair but froze when he wound his tongue in tight delicious circles around my clit.

"Oh my…oh, that feels so _good_." My chest was heaving up and down and I felt the familiar coil in the pit of my stomach start to tighten and I knew I wouldn't be far off. All these sensations were so new and _incredible_ I didn't think I was going to last much longer.

As he kept me spread open with his hands he ran his tongue down my centre and pushed it gently at first and then all the way inside of me. I let out a cry that would have sounded like I was in pain to anyone who didn't know what we were doing. He thrust in and out of me and then I realised he really was fucking me with his tongue.

How can sex _possibly_ feel any better than _this_?

It was when he added his two fingers into the mix and really started pumping me that I knew I was just about there. His fingers continued to fuck me while his tongue did the most incredibly sequence over where I was aching the most and I couldn't hold on any longer.

I let out a cry and some variation of his name as it hit me like a freight train, hard and sudden and my back arched off the bed as the most blinding incredibly feeling made its way from between my legs to the rest of my body. This wasn't like any other orgasm I'd had before, it was like orgasm squared or super orgasm. Whatever it was I liked it, _a lot_.

I could vaguely register Edward making his way up my body and the only thought that made it into my brain was that I had to kiss him, no why or how just _do._

I could taste myself on him but couldn't give a toss about anything else other than the fact that I was majorly grateful to have him in my life.

"Are you ok love?" This time when he asked I could reply in the affirmative, I couldn't be better.

"Fuck I didn't think I could love you more now than I did before you did that but I do. Words don't really cover it but, wow."

"So I didn't disappoint then? It was good." Pshh as if Edward could _ever_ disappoint me. The fact that he said the last part as a statement and not a question told me he knew _just_ how much I'd enjoyed myself.

"Mmmmm, it was _amazing_. Feel free to throw me down anytime, anywhere and do that again."

"You know I have a feeling I'm going to feel hungry around midday tomorrow, and I already know what I'll want."

"I'll pencil you in." I fell blissfully asleep in the arms of the man I loved and happier than ever.

**So…good? Bad? Marks out of ten?**

**I want to hear your waxing stories ladies and gentlemen (are there any male readers?).**

**Happy Saturday!**

**Aurora**


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